Juuichi
by The Lancer of the Sun
Summary: Just when I thought getting killed couldn't get any worse, I was reborn and sent to the Naruto universe by the Shinigami with some strange and unknown destiny. All I knew is that I needed to get to Konoha, but being trapped in the middle of the Kiri bloodline purges was definitely not on my list of things to do. Stupid Shinigami. Semi-SImale!OC T-maybe-M rate eventually.
1. Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings

**Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings**

 **AN: In lieu of my One Piece story being written, I'm going to start on my... Naruto story! *Cue children cheering in the distance***

 **This is another OC fic, but if you aren't stupid you could just read the summary and find this out. It will be a male, as I am a male and cannot write female characters well. I am also going to try out first person perspective.**

 **Don't be shy with constructive criticism or reviews. TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO TO IMPROVE.**

 **Blegh, brain fart... can't think right now.**

 **He-Who-Lances-The-Sun**

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 **"Attacks (Translations)" ** (Although being the first chapter there isn't much of that)

 **\/**

* * *

What a crappy day to die.

Don't get me wrong, the day was great, considering that it was my birthday. It was raining and my family and I were having a nice quiet day indoors with myself gazing out of the water-streaked window.

My eyes opened, and wakefulness came slowly. A wheezing noise came from my throat, my lungs desperately trying to take in air. My ears rang, and big spots were dancing in my vision. What was with the funny designs in the sky? Oh, dammit! My glasses broke!

That's when my brain started to tell me to feel again, oh what a mistake that was. Falling from a second floor window was not like jumping into a pile of pillows. Not at all. My back hurt to say the least, and I could not move my arms or legs. For that matter, I could feel nothing below my chest. Fan-frickin-tastic, now I'm going to be a vegetable.

I don't know how long that I stayed there laying in a large puddle for, gasping for breath and clinging onto consciousness. What a pity it'd be if I broke my spine. Mom would never let me outside again. _'Gerald is gonna kill me.'_ I thought before my gut wrenched.

Gerald.

My best friend was dead.

 _'No, that's impossible. He can't die, we've been through too much together.'_ It became even more difficult to breath as my throat constricted. Tears welled in my eyes, unnoticed from the pounding rain. _'Watch, Vince, he's gonna come right out of that door and yell at me for being such an idiot and for waking him up. Just you wait.'_ That thought calmed me down somewhat.

Time passed, too much time. I knew my greatest friend was dead. Great sobs of despair made my paralyzed body twitch a little.

After a while I calmed down, possibly due to oxygen deprivation. My thoughts started to wander, and I could hear the voice of Yahiko from the Naruto Anime in my head.

To know peace, you must first know pain.

Yeah, great. Exactly what I wanted to hear in this situation, that I'd find peace. to be honest, I'd rather find my past-self and not let him go outside today. Then this whole situation would be solved... Well, besides Gerald getting blown up by crazy people with dynamite issues. I grimaced, flashes of his scared face coming to the forefront of my mind.

That's what landed me in this situation. Gerald was apparently being targeted by these insane cultist guys who thought his death would bring some sort of balance to the world. Gerald, being the paragon of virtue that he is, spared me from death by explosion by pushing me out of his second-story window

I needed to distract myself, but what could I do? Fester in my thoughts, that's what.

Well... what would Naruto do? _'Well he would never be in this situation in the first place now would he?'_ I thought scathingly to myself. I barked out a weak humorless laugh, so this is what Lee must've felt like before Tsunade did the surgery to fix him up before the fight with Kimmimaro. At least I could be at peace with knowing how his pain felt.

Jeez, now I'm taking advice from a lunatic with a God complex. _'But he's soooo strong!'_ I argued with myself. _'But he wanted to destroy the world by having everyone feel like he did, miserable. Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage and protecting all of his friends was way better than disillusioning yourself to be a god because of your eyes.'_

Voices. Off in the distance.

The weight of the world was lifted from my broken body for all of two seconds before I realized to my horror that the voices were all of children.

A group of three boys came to my broken form and surrounded me. One of them jeered and hurled some sort of insult at me. Naturally, I was offended but my head was so fuzzy I couldn't make out any words..

I coughed, hardly able to get enough air.

That one's face curled into childish anger and he yelled at me rapid-fire in gibberish. He aimed a vaguely gun-shaped object at my head.

One of the other boys forced the gun holder's hand down, and soon they got in an argument. Probably over my death. The third boy stood there innocently while the two jabbered.

I looked at him with dead eyes, trying to give him a look that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He averted his own eyes and the boy with the gun started screaming the same phrase over and over again.

The gun boy turned away from me and put the barrel of his gun between the other arguing boy's eyes.

The trigger finger tightened and the gun went off at the same time a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree.

The boy fell next to me, his blood staining the small pond in front of Gerald's burning house.

The gunner looked remorseless and turned to me, pointing the revolver at me now. I growled at him the best that I could with my limited breath.

He smirked at me and surprisingly, spoke in some kind of English that my befuddled brain could comprehend, "I was told to point this at these people and pull the lever!" He looked excited, "I'm going to be in the Inner Circle now! They gave me pictures of the people I had to point this thing at! Look!" The horrifying prepubescent murderer reached into the pocket protector of his ratty polo shirt and pulled out four photos with big red 'x's over their faces.

Mom, dad, Eric, Stephanie. All dead because of me being friends with Gerald.

What have I done? What kind of bastard am I?

The boy smiled at me with childish joy in his eyes. It would be cute given any other circumstance. Now, it just made me sick. "Aren't you so happy? I can't wait!"

The finger tightened over the trigger and I could hear Yahiko's voice again.

Now you shall know pain.

Darkness.

 **\/**

* * *

I gasped heavily, like I was waking from some terrible nightmare. A bright light stung my eyes in the silence, _'Ah, this must be Heaven.'_ To be honest, I didn't really know what was going to happen when I died.

I felt some kind of... pull to... somewhere. I opened my eyes, but was nearly blinded by the sheer brightness. My precious lids snapped shut and I pressed my hands up to cover them.

Wait, hands? I could feel myself laying down too. Does this mean I'm not paralyzed anymore?

I pulled my hands from my face and forced my eyes to open. I peered down and saw something very wrong. My body was very naked, and to make matters worse, there was a cold breeze.

My body jolted upright and I whipped my head around, trying to find something to cover my decency with. Hey would ya look at that, I can move again. All I saw was whiteness, everywhere and in all directions.

That darn... pull kept drawing my attention to, surprise surprise! More whiteness!

I squinted, trying to focus on whatever the heck has got its grip on me. Seeing nothing, I got up and decided to head over to whatever the thing was. The more I walked, the stronger the pull was.

How would one describe this... pull? It wasn't physical, like someone tugging on your arm, but more like a feeling. A yearning to go somewhere. Being the doofus I was, (or was I smart for listening to the pull?) I followed it. The more powerful the feeling, it seemed that my body responded stronger. I picked up the speed.

Strangely, I wasn't fatigued and I decided to go faster. I wanted, no. I needed to get over there. Wherever 'there' was.

By now I felt like my heart was going to tear out of my chest to make its own way to the pull, ignoring whatever I thought. I was full-out sprinting, but my body still didn't feel the strain. I tried to consciously stop, but to my horror I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried.

There was a black speck in the distance, rapidly growing as if I were travelling far faster than any human should.

Like a Star Wars ship exiting lightspeed, I was jarred to a stop and I fell flat on my face from the inertia. I popped right back up like I never fell in the first place and stared at my hands. The pull had stopped completely. I looked back up and saw the biggest doorway I'd ever seen in my life, it looked the night sky with its star-dotted brilliance. It was so impossibly large that I felt like I was looking at an endless horizon, the blackness never ending even when I looked to the sides. There was depth to the strange door too, like I was standing among the stars in space.

It all held a serene beauty.

One of the stars darkened, drawing my attention to what looked like a massive ripple in the distance. A fast-moving object shot towards me from it, but I couldn't move away. No sensation existed below my chest.

I'm a frickin vegetable again!

The object collided with my once again broken body, and I got a good look at it. The thing was a light purple arm with dark rosary beads trailing along next to it. Cold fingers wrapped around my torso, dragging me into the darkness.

The arm of The Shinigami from Naruto? That's impossible, Naruto isn't real. This must all be some freaky dream.

The arm stopped and there it was. The death god was truly terrifying. Clothed in a robe of the whitest silk, the light purple-skinned being reached a hand up to its face. In its pointed black teeth-clad mouth was a black tanto with a paper-wrapped hilt, which the hand grabbed. The Shinigami's face was indifferent, it's black eyes boring into my soul as it raised the knife. Before the inevitable downward slice the Shinigami spoke with a gravelly voice belying great age. "A life stripped away at far too young an age. You know you were destined for greatness before you died, mortal."

Oh, so I really am dead then.

"Indeed, young one. Perhaps you will fare better elsewhere." The Shinigami said, apparently reading my mind. The black eyes closed, and a blue light issued from it's mouth, wrapping around the blade of the Shinigami's tanto. The blade of the short sword started to glow. "I give you chakra, mortal. The power of shinobi. With chakra and a new life, your existence shall never be the same again. Your destiny has changed from what it once was."

The blue-coated glowing tanto fell onto my body, and white-hot pain wracked my entire being. Under the guidance of the death god, the knife drew spirals all over my body, leaving blue light in its wake.

The blade retracted and I breathed a sigh of relief, but too soon. The knife returned, jabbing all over my body with a ferocity unlike I have ever seen. Every stab of the tanto piercing my very being and leaving some of the blue light behind.

I was screaming my head off, of course.

Suddenly, the Shinigami stopped, withdrawing the blade from my chest. "All three-hundred sixty-one tenketsu," It murmured, "Be grateful, mortal. Such a gift I have never given. If you die again before your time again mortal, eternal damnation is all you shall receive."

My entire self ached, and I could feel some kind of foreign energy emanating from inside of me. Is this chakra? It was calm, comforting, and filled me with a protective warmth. Where had this been my whole life? I felt... whole with chakra.

It brandished the now black knife again, holding it high in the air. "Your old soul must be destroyed in order for you to have a new life."

I could see the Shinigami's muscles tensing, preparing to swing down, but there was something I absolutely needed to know. "WAIT!" I yelled. The Shinigami hesitated. "Why are you doing this? I'm a nobody, what do I have that deserves that I be reborn?"

The massive being's jaw tensed, not that I noticed. "Nothing. I was summoned to take a life against my will, so I found a loophole. The life wasn't specified, so I took yours. Now you're going to a new world."

Well, that was rather abrupt.

The black, menacing tanto fell.

"Be reborn to fulfill your new destiny."

The blade pierced me and I felt nothing, saw nothing. Only darkness.

 **\/**

* * *

And that's how I died, was revived, and killed again only to now be reborn into the Naruto universe. Yup, I'm not joking either. Why would I joke if getting my soul torn out hurt so damn much? You can bet money on the fact that I'm _not_ going to die again, the offer of eternal torture from Shinigami if I died young was one that I must woefully reject.

Also, when Shinigami told me that I was going to be reborn, I didn't expect him to be so literal! My consciousness was transported to some small, dark, warm, moist place for _NINE FREAKING MONTHS!_ That was the longest time I had ever spent in one place... when I had intelligent thought, that is. To make matters less than desirable, the simple action of thinking was taxing. I remember trying to figure out where I was, and I slept for at least three days after realizing I was in a uterus!

Now here I was, in the bright room of a hospital wrapped in a blanket being held gently. My mind apparently decided to repress the memory of the whole birth experience, good. I don't want nightmares already.

I was so tired, but I forced my eyes to open. A mass of sky blue crowded my vision and a round shape appeared, murmuring softly in a vaguely familiar language, but I couldn't understand a word the thing was saying. I caught a single word from the shape, _'Oh, that must be a face,'_ I thought. The word was "Kaa-chan."

These people were speaking Japanese.

My vision was too blurry to distinguish anything other than a tan blob for a face and the light blue hair. This woman holding me was my new mom? So the whole Shinigami thing wasn't a dream then.

I felt my body turned to face another shape, another face. This one with hair so dark that it seemed to draw the light in. The soft voice of the woman said some more words, but I managed to understand "Tou-san." This was my father? All I could make out was his hair, not really all that much to tell him by.

I was too tired to deal with this crap, and my infantile body was unable to stay awake. So I simply fell asleep in this blue-haired woman's protective arms, it was really comfortable and the woman rocked me gently, aiding my journey to dreamland.

 **\/**

* * *

A couple of days later I was taken from the hospital at night by the woman that called herself Kaa-chan. My senses weren't exactly developed per se, but I knew that I was moving extremely fast in the arms of the woman, and she was jumping. This was a really strange experience for me. _'Is this how shinobi travel? Is this woman a ninja?'_ I idly wondered. Somehow this woman... my mother? Managed to keep me completely still and comfortable for the entire journey to her home. I could feel the woman, my mom's incredibly strong arms holding me firmly, yet with a tenderness that only a mother could have.

I kept having these feelings, like another sense interfering with my stunted infantile vision. It was really annoying and distracting to me.

The woman stopped, landing softly in front of a brown blur. She held me up so I could see it, not that my sensory organs could process the sight. "Hariken-kun o sansho shite kudasai? Koreha-kadearimasu!" Ah, my mother's voice was melodious, I could listen to that all day long. After showing me whatever the heck the blur was, she tucked me back into her arms and stared at me smiling softly.

I had no idea what she said to me so I just gurgled happily, a typical baby response. Apparently this was the right response because she gave me a toothy grin. To my shock this woman had two long fangs in her mouth instead of canines. Unfortunately, my mature mind was overtaken by my infant nature and I began to cry at the sight of a potential predator.

The woman stopped smiling and immediately tried consoling me. When that didn't work she looked around frantically and darted to the brown blob. Now that I was closer, I could see that it was a small house. The woman handed me to the man with the hair the color of darkness who was suddenly standing there next to her and bit her thumb. After doing that the woman's, (I suppose I should start calling her mother, or 'Kaa-chan') hands became blurs as she went through rapid hand-signs. Once she was done, she wiped her blood on the door of the small house.

All over the house kanji lit up in bright blue and faded a couple seconds later. My mother opened the door, ushering the man holding me into the house. I heard a huge splash behind my small family and my father tensed, "Oinin!" He growled. The two of them shared a glance and I was passed back to my mom, my father taking off in the direction of the suiton jutsu.

My mother closed the door behind him and held me nervously, "Kami, Taimu-kun ge anzen mi kitaku sa sete kudasai!" She prayed fervently.

 **\/**

* * *

My father never came back. My mother cried every day for a week. Her depressed behavior continued for an innumerable amount of time after that.

Now, about two years later, I had spoke my first word (Hebi, my mother was both ecstatic and nervous, undoubtedly remembering the wary glances I sent her occasionally) and my senses finally sharpened to an acceptable level by my standards, which was strange. In my old life, it took until I was about four to be able to see with precision. I explored the small house eagerly, happy to finally be able to travel around on my own power for once in this life.

Every night, Kaa-chan left through the hidden hatch in the floor I pretended I didn't notice and returned with some fish for the day's food a couple of hours later. It seems that my tastebuds had carried over because I still absolutely hated seafood. But now, with fish being the only readily available food source, I was forced to get used to it.

Whenever she was gone I felt an overwhelming loneliness take me, and I was so filled with emotion I cried in her absence. I cried for my past family, Gerald, my other friends, Tou-san, and sometimes for the people in my old world, a life without chakra must have been so empty. Thank the Shinigami for chakra, though. The comforting embrace of my own power always soothed my aching heart when I was sad. The night became my time of sanctuary, the darkness making me feel like I had less a part of this world than I actually had. The little 'destiny' thing that the Shinigami said before I was transferred to the Naruto world still bugged me.

I crawled over to a corner and faced the door, making sure that the corner I was in was not in the direct field of view that Kaa-Chan would have when she emerged from the hidden hatch. Boy, was I glad it was the night time. I closed my eyes, concentrating on finding that familiar feeling within myself. It came slowly, but I had all the time in the world to reach my chakra, or at least until Kaa-chan came back.

Gradually, a blue aura began to glow around me and I basked in the warmth, letting my chakra comfort me all around. I became very tired, very quickly as was the consequence of expelling chakra from the minimal chakra coils of a two-year old, but the short time of tranquility was worth it in my opinion.

Through my now-drowsy haze, I heard the hatch open. With my tired state loosening my tongue, I called out. "Kaa-chan! Look I do!"

My mother's blue eyes snapped to where I was in the corner, the reason being was that I was a very quiet child. She shimmied herself out of the small opening and turned to face me. Kaa-chan was a very pretty woman with her blue eyes and long blue hair, strangely her pupils were slits instead of circles like most other people. Her hair was worn down, framing her face in a way that, when she smiled would probably make men gape. She had a delicate nose and a very angular face. Her pink lips were almost always in a smile ever since she got over the death of my Tou-san. She was fairly tall, but anybody would be a giant when compared to my infantile frame, so I really couldn't tell for sure. Kaa-chan had long, powerful legs that could probably kick the jaw off a donkey. She always wore clothing that hid nearly all of her skin but her face, but even through the thick clothes I could tell that she was a dangerous woman.

As for her clothes, sea-blue was her favorite color, as she always had it on, accentuating her blue eyes and hair. She wore a blue long-sleeved shirt under a heavily armored kiri jounin vest and black shinobi pants. Over her pants was a deep-blue skirt that reached her knees and closed-toe boots with metal shinguards and faded blue pinstriped padding around the back. She had pinstriped arm warmers and black gloves over the long sleeves of her shirt. Because of the skirt, she wore her kunai holster and equipment pouch on the front of her vest. Her shirt had a turtleneck that was to both conceal her skin and to prevent chafing from her vest.

I reached within myself for as much chakra as I could, actively pushing it outwards to show what an awesome skill I had. The blue aura around me glowed brightly and she gasped, dropping the armful of fish she had and reaching me quickly. "Hariken-kun!" She shouted happily, placing her hands on my small shoulders. "You unlocked chakra! Ooh, you are so smart!" Thank the lucky stars that the infant's brain could pick up language extremely fast. Her expression changed from happy to worried, "You have to be careful, okay Hariken-kun? Only do that when Kaa-chan is around. Will you do that for Kaa-chan?"

I smiled and nodded, filled with joy that I could make Kaa-chan proud of me when my old family barely acknowledged me. No matter what, this time around I'd protect my family!

A wave of dizziness overcame me and I collapsed into Kaa-chan's arms, smiling happily. She looked at me and grinned her fanged smile, holding me close. I reached a weary hand up to her face and touched one of her fangs and asked, "Kaa-chan, why you have those?" She only rocked me gently and leaned down to kiss my forehead, "Later," She said. "I'll tell you when you are awake and will listen."

"I'm not tired!" I protested weakly, yawning explosively after saying that.

Kaa-chan laughed, such a pretty sound. "Sure you aren't," she said. "All I can say is that we're special. You and I." She started to hum a soft lullaby and I snuggled in closer to her warmth.

"Sweet dreams, Hariken-kun."

 **\/**

* * *

 **Two years later**

It turns out that showing Kaa-chan my chakra was the best sleepy mistake I'd ever made. The very next day after I showed her my flare of chakra she had me doing all kinds of exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, running, and the like. And in the night time right before she tucked me in to sleep, she had me forcibly push my chakra out of my system to stimulate my chakra network to expand. I could safely say that she was a slave driver when it came to fitness, and since I was fed nothing but fish (commonly called brain food, boy were they right in calling it that), I found mental tasks to be far easier than in my previous life. I was the educational equivalent of a straight-A student too.

At four years old I was a bag of skin, bones, and small muscles, but what muscles I did have were toned to the point of rock solidity when I flexed. My mother was all too happy to announce that I would be starting taijutsu practice after the first couple of weeks of rigorous conditioning. The only bad thing so far was the itching in the small of my back.

Oh, and by the way, I still lived in the tiny shack that I was brought to as an infant. Yeah, it was starting to get a bit crowded even though there was only two residents. Thank goodness that Kaa-chan taught me how to wall climb so I could run in a straight line all around the roof and walls instead of having to run in small circles.

Kaa-chan had proven to be an adept teacher too. The geography of the Elemental Nations was driven into my memory along with its history. Learning Japanese was tough, but I persevered through her excellent teaching and my sheer determination. I had excelled in science to the point that even she was impressed, so she only taught that for a short period of time each day.

She still hadn't answered my question about why she had fangs two years ago, and now my own set of children's chompers came with normal-sized canines. I had waited long enough, two years is a long wait for someone as impatient as I.

I walked over to the mirror on the wall, pulling my cheeks to see the inside of my mouth. Why did Kaa-chan get fangs and I didn't? I had a sneaking suspicion that she had a Kekkai Genkai. But if that were true, where was the rest of our clan? She once showed me where we lived on the Elemental Nations map, the Westernmost part of Mizu no Kuni, very close to the border of Hi no Kuni.

But we still lived in Mizu no Kuni.

I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as to why Kaa-chan lived almost alone and had a Kekkai Genkai. I steeled my resolve and was about to take my fingers from my mouth when a hand landed on my shoulder and I whirled around, startled. My back twinged and I desperately needed to scratch it from the sudden movement. Kaa-chan grinned her toothy grin and asked, "Wondering about the fangs I have, Hariken-kun?"

I nodded mutely and she kneeled down next to me, pulling me into her lap. I grimaced when my itchy back rubbed against her firm shinobi-muscled stomach. She sighed and ran her fingers through my short dark blue hair, a mix between my Tou-san's midnight locks and Kaa-chan's sky-blue hair. "You look so much like your Kaa-chan, did you know that?"

Where had this come from? And why was my back so cursedly itchy!?

She continued to stroke my head until I relaxed in her embrace. She moved so that I could see both her face and mine in the mirror. We really did look alike with our slitted blue eyes and angular faces. She rustled my hair and said, "All you got from your Tou-san, Taimu, was dark hair. I miss him so much."

We sat, mourning silently until Kaa-chan spoke up again, "Taimu-kun was a member of the Shiro-Herarudo clan and I am a member of the Umi no Dokuhebi clan. Both of our clans were small due to the first and second Shinobi World wars, and both clans were too small to regrow on their own, so his parents decided to arrange a political marriage after the Shiro-Herarudo clan dwindled to only one extended family. My clan had..." Kaa-chan winced, then cleared her throat before continuing, "Had, two full extended families, but was still too small to repopulate without some... bad things happening."

I didn't need to be a former medical student in training to know what that meant. My back twitched.

"The arrangement was between Taimu-kun and my cousin Aoa, but it didn't happen that way. I was seventeen and Taimu-kun was nineteen. On the day that she and Taimu were to be wed, the Mizukage himself showed up at the altar and declared that all people with Kekkei Genkai were to be put to death, as they were unnatural beings and the rampage of the Kaguya clan made the people of Kirigakure angry for blood. He said, that any clan without a Kekkei Genkai that married into a clan with one would also be killed." Kaa-chan wiped a tear from her face, and I saw her blue eyes cloud with sadness. "The Mizukage, Yagura" She spat, "Took a kunai and plunged into Aoa's throat right as she was about to put on her ring. I was a bridesmaid and Yagura was about to kill me when I was grabbed by Taimu-kun and shunshinned away with him." Kaa-chan couldn't go on and dissolved into sobs.

I reached up to wipe my Kaa-chan's hair from her face as she cried. She clutched me closely and I realized that I was crying too. My Tou-san was hunted down and killed just because of who he married? That wasn't right, people shouldn't be killed for choosing who they married.

Kaa-chan sniffled loudly and spat to the side, "Damn that Yagura." She said weakly. "Taimu-kun and I traveled as far away from Kirigakure as we could, to a secret hiding spot that my clan set up for emergencies. None of both of our clans survived." Kaa-chan gestured around herself, "This is where Taimu-kun and I lived for three years. Like any boy and girl that are cooped up together long enough, we fell in love with each other. He was so charming and handsome… He gave me the wedding ring from his own finger for my birthday, and he told me that it doesn't matter who gets between us, we'd still be with each other forever." She slipped the too-large ring from her left hand and showed it to me. "A year later we found the stash of sake in a loose floorboard and... well, I discovered that I was pregnant with you."

I was a drunken mistake? Seriously? The inability to scratch at my back from my mother's hold was maddening.

"Nine months later, the greatest thing ever happened to me, my little hurricane was born. But the Mizukage was not sitting idly, he sent his Hunter-nin to track us down. It took them three years, but Yagura did not care." Kaa-chan held me closer and I gritted my teeth, stupid back. "Just like that, one of the best things that ever happened to me was taken away."

She choked out another sob, "When you cried after seeing my fangs, it hurt so much. My own son was scared of me."

I jerked back, aghast. "No Kaa-chan! I would never do that! I love you so much, you're the only one that cares! If anything happened to you, I don't know what I would do!"

She shook her head sadly, "If anything happens to me, there is a hidden hatch beneath the rug next to the dining table. It will be filled with water, but you can escape to the lake next to the house."

"How will I breath?" I interrupted.

Kaa-chan laughed and ruffled my hair, "I suppose that I should tell you about our Kekkei Genkai, that is all you wanted to know, right?" She placed a finger on the back of my neck and pulled my shirt down a little, leaning me forwards a bit so I could look at myself in the mirror. "Feel these ridges Hariken-kun?" She brought one of my hands to the back of my neck and I could feel three long ridges going all the way from one side of the back of my neck to the other. "These are gills, if you are underwater and these are exposed, you don't need to breath, only keep these in contact with the water."

She rubbed them a little bit and I shrieked, lifting my shoulders and bucking to try to vainly escape the sudden ticklish sensation. "Kaa-chan!" I protested.

She giggled, "It just so happens that the gills of our clan are very sensitive. I have them too." She flipped her hair forward and brought my hand to the back of her neck, sure enough, there were three long gills jutting from her. I decided some revenge was in order and I rubbed them slowly, trying to see what reaction I'd get from her.

Her back went more rigid than a board and I snatched my hand away, "K-kaa-chan? What was that?" I know Kaa-chan said that the gills were sensitive, but what the heck was that?

Her eyes snapped open and she blushed tomato red, "T-that never happened!" She squeaked in embarrassment, "L-like I said, our gills are a bit... _sensitive_." She said, emphasizing the word. "You'll understand when you're older."

Oh, _that_ kind of sensitive. "A-ano, do we have anything else other than gills, Kaa-chan?" I asked.

She seemed to reign in her thoughts and swallowed, "Yeah, our most powerful weapon is the venom we carry in our fangs." I pouted, and she laughed, "Don't worry Hariken-kun, you don't get your fangs until a high-stress situation. Once you get them, you can retract them and ready them whenever you want. Look at mine." She said, baring her teeth to show her long canines slide back into her gums, now they just looked like unusually long teeth. "Getting them out is kinda strange after your first time, because of a special muscle in your mouth is used." With a 'schnick' the fangs were back in place and ready to poke some holes.

Kaa-chan sighed, "Sadly, the only way to build up venom is to have food or drink that have been poisoned. The venom is concentrated over time, so the longer you go without biting someone, the more potent your bite can be." She picked up a fish from the counter, "Every single thing that I've ever fed you has been poisoned."

I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth, "Are you trying to kill me?" I asked.

She smacked her forehead, "No, Hariken." She said wearily, "Think. If the only way to gain venom was through poisoned food, what do you think we would have?"

I pondered for a moment with a fist propping my head up, "Hmm..." I said, "An... immunity to fish?"

She smacked my forehead this time, "No, baka! We are naturally immune to poison!"

I perked up, "We're invincible to all poisons? Isn't that impossible?" I asked.

She rubbed her head, "Yeah, it should be, but this is a Kekkei Genkai that I'm talking about, they just defy logic. Like the Kaguya clan, their power was the ability to shoot bones from their body! How does that make sense?"

"Chakra?" I asked.

Kaa-chan raised a hand to say something, but slowly placed it on her chin in thought. "I..." She started, "Don't see why that doesn't work... I'm pretty sure that they are passed down through family lines, so each family has different chakra? It really doesn't matter, except that Kekkei Genkai exist and they give different abilities than regular chakra does."

"Yes Kaa-chan." Best not to argue with the person that is in charge of my training. "Is there anything else to our Kekkei Genkai?" I asked, idly scratching my back. Kaa-chan noticed and grinned, reeling me back into her embrace. She snuck a hand under my shirt and softly scratched the exact spot that was tormenting me. I went stock-still and started groaning in ecstasy.

There is no better feeling than when your mother scratches an itchy spot, no matter what universe you are in. I felt like a dog and my leg almost started to bounce. "Yesssssss" I groaned. "Feels soooo... goood...mmmmm."

She suddenly stopped and the torturous witch cackled, retracting her hand. I wailed out and planted my face into her shoulder, "Why'd you stop?!" I whined. She continued to laugh at my misery and showed me what was in her hand. It was a... big ol' flake of skin. My discomfort was forgotten as I stared at the offending object in shock. I reached around myself and felt where Kaa-chan scratched and felt... smoothness? Kaa-chan turned me so that I could see the small of my back in the mirror. My back was a myriad of dry, red, flaky skin with one patch missing. I looked closer and saw a shiny dark blue... scale? Its color was a little bit lighter than my hair.

So this means I'm a fish?

I must've said that out loud because Kaa-chan ruffled my hair and giggled, "No, Hariken-kun! You're so cute. That's not a fish scale, that _is_ your skin. It consists of a intricate network of scales that can deflect small, light, projectiles, like senbon, but heavier weapons like kunai will break through. Shuriken will probably pierce the scales, but will do minimal damage." She said, shrugging.

"I have scales? Scales that are also my skin? Do I have to shed them like snakes?"

Kaa-chan smiled, "Yes, yes, no. In that order. You were asking about the other parts of the Kekkei Genkai? That's the last one. As part of the Umi no Dokuhebi clan you have the characteristics of a sea-viper, and that includes having scales along with your fangs and venom."

"But why do we have gills?"

"Not a clue. Chakra? Mutation?"

I nodded, that was a reasonable answer.

Kaa-chan pointed to herself, "As a matter of fact, my name is Uroko, it means scales, as in snake scales. All members of the Umi no Dokuhebi clan have scales, but when they emerge is determined by gender. It is the same case with fangs. A male's scales come out very early in their life, but their fangs only come out in a situation much like the Uchiha's Sharingan. Do you remember what I taught you?"

I scratched my back again, "Uhh, yeah. People of the Uchiha clan awaken their legendary Dojutsu, the Sharingan in a life-or-death situation. Does that mean that I get my fangs if I am in a situation where I could die at any moment?"

My Kaa-chan, Uroko, nodded "Yes, exactly. Females from our clan, on the other hand, get their fangs at a young age, and their scales do not come in until after they give birth to a child." She smiled at me and brought me into a warm embrace. "This means that you're the reason that I have my scales now!"

I whooped in joy and hugged her happily, "I did something great for Kaa-chan! Ooh, can I see them Kaa-chan? Your scales must be so pretty just like you!"

She blushed from the praise and smiled, "Of course! You gave them to me... in a way." I jumped off of her so she could move. Kaa-chan took off one of her boots and the corresponding sock, revealing shiny sky-blue scales covering her foot. She undid the fastenings on the shinguard of the same leg and let it slide down her leg to the floor. Her leg was uncovered from the calf downwards, and every part of exposed skin was covered in sky-blue scales. I reached out and looked at her hesitantly, she met my eyes and nodded. I placed my hand on them and marveled at how smooth and warm Kaa-chan's scales were.

I was amazed, "Is it... like this all around you?" Kaa-chan nodded and I smiled softly. "I did something." I whispered. "I did something and I did good." I looked at my Kaa-chan, "I can't wait until I get all of my scales!" I paused. "Why isn't your face scaly?"

She sniffed disdainfully, "It is. I henge them to look like normal skin. Just keep scratching, and you will get awesome scales like mine!"

At that reminder, I collapsed on the ground, scratching my back. It was downright _burning_ it itched so badly. "Thanks for nothing! It itches so bad now!"

She laughed, "And it will continue to feel like that until you get it all off. Be careful around the face area, it hurts when you peel the skin there."

She paused for a moment, then continued. "We have these openings on our foreheads as well. They're called pit organs, and I personally didn't know what they did until I got my scales. According to the elders of the Umi no Dokuhebi, they allowed us to see things in a different way, but so far all I've noticed is that everything comes out in different colors. Hot things are generally red, and cold things look blue. I don't know why though."

An idea formed in my mind, but I was far too busy scratching to dwell on it.

 **\/**

* * *

 **One year later**

I was discontented, not from the fact that I was some sort of snake-person-creature in the Naruto universe, but from the fact that I was just going stir crazy from being held here all this time. There was good points to being like this though, as Kaa-chan was starting to teach me how to utilize my chakra more efficiently. It turns out that control is the most important part of using jutsu, so Kaa-chan had me working on control techniques.

I was starting to learn shinobi subjects, instead of the stuff that only civilians learned. I pestered Kaa-chan to teach me how to be a shinobi so much that she relented and started teaching me in the ways of the shinobi. If I thought her training before was difficult, well, that was a thing of the past.

The one thing that stayed constant was the expelling of chakra before bed. I asked Kaa-chan one day if other people did this and she replied with a no. If this was how to increase chakra coils, why didn't people do it?

Alongside chakra control, my mother kept up all of my academic studies, but there wasn't time to do both on a daily basis, so she just figured to do both at the same time. Taijutsu stayed pretty much the same, with Kaa-chan beating the ever-living stuffing out of me every day despite my scaly protection and me never landing a hit on her.

I still had not gotten my fangs to come out, and stared at myself in the mirror dejectedly when I looked to find them not popping out of my gums.

Now I was still a highly-toned skin bag, but I had grown more tall over time like all kids were wont to do. Most of the muscle I had, had come from me trying to condition myself to running long distances and jumping around the house. It drove Kaa-chan nuts, and every day after about thirty minutes of me running and jumping, she called me down so I could do something more useful to condition my legs. She had me practicing kicks and punches instead of running around.

I needed to get the heck out of this house. I looked at myself in the mirror, and liked what I saw. I was already going to be considered tall by five-year old standards with my 49 inch tall frame (nearly four feet tall). The color of the scales, like Kaa-chan was a fine royal blue, the same color as my old school colors.

I was proud of my scales and didn't want to hide them, so my Kaa-chan tailored some of my Tou-san's old clothing to be smaller. I wore my Kaa-chan modified black shinobi pants with basic toeless sandals and Kiri pinstriped legwarmers acting like the bandages on Konoha pants. For my shirt I had a simple black tee-shirt with short sleeves. My face was still angular, but my tongue had split into a fork, allowing me to have a superior sense of smell much like snakes do. Kaa-chan had never told me about that those few years ago.

This was the outfit I wore just about every day, but I was growing explosively under Kaa-chan's superb eye. Soon we would no longer have clothing to modify for me to wear. Kaa-chan was running out of clothes too.

We both needed to get out, I decided.

I was staring at the map of the Elemental Nations and placed a finger on the border of Mizu no Kuni and Hi no Kuni. I traced a straight line to Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves. _'Hm, from where we are now, it would take a while to get there. Once we arrive I'd be able to tell exactly what time we're in. Stupid Masashi Kishimoto doesn't have a reliable timeline to reference.'_ I though to myself.

Kaa-chan's face appeared next to mine, "What'cha lookin' at?" she asked cheerily. I, being the manly man I was, _definitely did not_ shriek like a little girl and trip to the ground. Uroko laughed at me and helped me up, "Hee-hee! Little Hariken-chan got scared by little old Kaa-chan!"

I pushed out a lip defiantly and acted mature about it.

"DID NOT!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did not!"

"Did to-ARGH! Dangit Kaa-chan!" I can't believe that my mother hit me with the classic Bugs Bunny maneuver. Wily old woman!

She giggled at me again and stroked my gills, adding insult to injury. My head jerked back and I felt like I was being tormented. "Kaa-chaaan," I whined. What? Just because I had the mental age of twenty-one didn't mean that I couldn't use the advantages of the five-year-old body.

My mother sighed wistfully and turned serious, "Now Hariken-kun, you know that doesn't work on me. I've been around you your entire life and know you are much more mature than you like to appear."

I frowned at her childishly in response. I didn't think that my maturity would be figured out so quickly, even if it was five years. My gaze was drawn back to Konoha on the map. I needed to know what time we're in, and I needed to find a safer spot than the emergency shelter I lived in for the past five years. Right Now, my mother and I were too exposed out here in the middle of nowhere, and I knew for a fact that a hidden shinobi village would be the best spot for us if we wanted to survive. That was my main goal, survival. The Shinigami didn't give me another chance for nothing, and I'd be damned if I gave up this last chance and was tormented by the deity for eternity.

Kaa-chan followed where my eyes were looking and looked to the map of the Elemental Nations herself, her eyes drawing the same path my finger did. Uroko frowned, her head dipping down in acceptance and sighed wearily. "Hariken, you're right, we need to get out of this place."

Huh? Was my face really that easy to read or was it my mother's ninja training that let her see what I was thinking?

She shrugged shamelessly, "I'm a ninja, Hariken-kun, It's what we do."

 _'Great a mind-reading mother, exactly what I wanted.'_ I thought sarcastically. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, my scales making a slight raspy sound as they rubbed together. "What are we gonna do, Kaa-chan? I'm not stupid enough to think that that Mizukage didn't leave some hunter-nin in the case that we do escape." I got up from the ground where I fell after being startled by my mother and started pacing the small room.

Coincidentally, I walked a path next to the table and tripped over the slightly ajar hatch handle. The moment my toes came into contact with the handle I got both the gut-wrenching sense of impending doom and the elation of inspiration striking. I toppled onto the floor, hard. I was flailing my arms wildly, so I luckily didn't become very well acquainted with the wood and braced myself with my hands.

Being the smooth guy I was, I made the fall look like I was spontaneously going into exercises and did a round of push-ups. I stood back up to see my Kaa-chan raise a cynical eyebrow, as if saying "Really?"

I harrumphed and crossed my arms petulantly, "I planned that entire thing out, you just don't want to admit how much you were in awe of my smoothness."

She scoffed, "Uh-huh."

I ignored her and crouched down to look at the 'hidden' passageway out of the emergency shelter. I opened the door and pointed into the muddy water, looking at Kaa-chan. "We can go out this way to the lake you said was there." I closed the door and went back to the wall with the map of the Elemental Nations on it and made and 'x' with my fingernail over where I knew we were now. "We're here now, and if we move into this river and into the ocean," I said, trailing my finger along the line that denoted a river and into the blue mass. "We can avoid the Hunter-nin altogether if we stay underwater the whole time. We can breath underwater while they can't, so we swim in the ocean and head to Nami no Kuni." Here I pointed at the small island nation next to Hi no Kuni. "We can catch our breath there and then go into Hi no Kuni where the Hunter-nin have far less jurisdiction than here in Mizu no Kuni. After we're in Hi no Kuni, we can just go at our leisure to Konoha! What do you think, Kaa-chan? We can do this!"

While I was talking, Kaa-chan had sat down in our one chair and took up a thinking pose, stroking her chin. "Hmm. Your plan is a good one Hariken-kun, but you didn't factor in that Konohagakure might not let a missing-nin with a Kiri flak jacket into their village."

"That doesn't matter, when we get to Konoha, we can just stay outside the walls or heck, even just stay in the surrounding forests! The main thing is that we get some resemblance of safety." I told her. "I thought about this a lot. Konoha is the only place we can go. Kiri is out of the question, with the bloodline murders, Kumo would definitely accept a new bloodline, but to get there we need to go through the whirlpools of Uzushio. We can't go to Iwa because they just hate everybody and are way too far away, and Suna is in the middle of the desert. We'd be lucky if we survived getting to Suna, not to mention having to manage to live in the desert outside the village if they don't accept." I shook my head sadly, "We can't go anywhere _but_ Konoha, Kaa-chan."

In my head, I didn't want her to know that I _really_ wanted to see the Sandaime Hokage if he was still alive.

Kaa-chan sighed. "I know we really don't have any choice at all. It's either die here or go and live somewhere else. I monitored the safety seals on the walls, and those are deteriorating rapidly too. They wouldn't last for another week."

My mother got up from her seat and pulled a storage scroll from a pocket on her vest, "You do remember how to use these, right? Just channel some chakra to open it up, then place the item you want sealed in."

I nodded.

"Good, pack whatever you feel you need for a long journey. We're going to Konoha."

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: Update from February 19, 2016. I fixed the age issue. Whereas before it said that Kaa-chan was thirty-six, now she was seventeen. I designed her to be the same age as the Sannin, and if she were thirty-six at the wedding, she'd be way older than them by the time the story hits the canon timeline.**

 **Update from November 2, 2017: I fixed the cringiness level and the issue where the people who killed Vince are terrorists. Now, the cringy part to the death scene is somewhat lower, the Vince backstory itself is shortened so that people still get the general idea, and the killers are just crazy brainwashed cultist kids.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and don't hesitate to send a review, as I'm open for suggestions and positive feedback.**

 **I guess I better get back to working for my next chapter.**

 **Lancer-of-the-Sun**


	2. Chapter 2: Encounter

**Chapter 2: Encounters**

 **AN: I'm back. Blame this completely on laziness on how late the chapter is. I truly admire how all of you have been patient with me, with last update being over a month (two months?) ago. I should have put out a notification out that the story would be on a temporary hiatus until I could get this chapter up. Yes, this chapter you're reading right now. This long of a time between chapters really is not okay, even for a highschooler. (Yes, school is currently in session. That's how long I was gone for.)**

 **I hope you like where my story is going, and like before, do not hesitate to review if there is something you think to inform me of that will improve my writing.**

 **He-Who-Lances-the-Sun**

"Speaking"

 _'Thoughts'_

 **"Attacks! (Translations!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

We stayed in the secret hideout of the Umi no Dokuhebi clan for two more days, preparing ourselves for the week-long journey through the ocean to Nami no Kuni, the Land of Waves. I really didn't have all that much stuff besides the clothes off of my back, so I helped my Kaa-chan, Uroko pack up the furniture, the decorations, and the like. I sealed the stuff away, and she erased the evidence that we'd lived in the shack. We both knew that clearing everything away was nothing but a delay tactic against the Oinin, or Hunter-nin, but every second we got in front of them counted.

Kaa-chan kept me from releasing all of my chakra before bed for the days before we left, saying that I would need full reserves for the journey. As a matter of fact, she had me use no chakra whatsoever until it was time to go. I did what I was told, like an obedient son is supposed to do.

On the day we left, I was a bit apprehensive, having never swam in the new life. Sure, I was a strong swimmer in the previous life but I don't know if that carried over. On top of that, I was weighed down with my clothing and all the scrolls. I looked up at my mother, standing there all patient and dipped my toes in the brown water. It was freezing cold and I yelped, snatching my foot back. I must have been tense because a pair of supportive hands were placed on my back and I looked to see Kaa-chan smiling warmly, "It'll be all right, Hariken-kun." I relaxed and smiled back at her.

I should have never let my guard down. Those gentle hands revealed that they were not always like so as my mother pushed me down into the water and forced my frame into the hatch in the floor.

Again, the water was freezing cold, and it was murky. My eyes were wide open as I drifted a couple of feet down to the muddy bottom of the escape tunnel. I couldn't see a thing, but I needed to warm up immediately, so I pushed off of the groud and felt a presence behind me. I don't exactly know how I knew my mother was there, but she swam around me and pulled me along in a direction. Micheal Phelps had nothing on this woman, she was going so fast. Chakra is the best, you can do so much with it. Like now, Kaa-chan was packing it into her muscles to make herself stronger and faster in the water. Either that, or she really is that good in the water, I really couldn't tell.

Right now I was being nothing but dead weight so I tested if my swimming ability carried over from life to life. Luckily, memory worked in my favor and I was now being less of a dead weight. Kaa-chan must have felt this because she stopped and let my hand go. She turned and opened her mouth to speak, "Try to stay with me okay Hariken?" She said.

Okay, now that was weird. I could hear her underwater, where people can't talk and hearing is muffled. I just chalked it up to another kekkei genkai snake thing. Speaking of my kekkei genkai, I wasn't drowning and I've got wickedly sweet swimming abilities, this is officially awesome. It would be even better if I had my fangs, but I'll take what I've got right now.

 _'I know that I've not been the most thankful guy, dude...'_ I thought, _'...But THANK YOU SHINIGAMI!'_

Uroko shot off like a bullet and I floundered (HA! Fish pun!) in the water for a second before speeding after her. With gills fueling my sinewy muscles and the innate power of the Umi no Dokuhebi, I had no problem catching up to her. Deciding to test the 'speaking underwater' thing, I said to my mother excitedly, "We're finally getting out of here!" I was surprised by how easy it was to talk, and by my own eagerness. It seems the child's instinct is not as easily suppressed I I'd thought it would be with my mature mind.

My mother smiled back at me from where she was slightly ahead and swam a bit faster. Naturally I took this as a challenge and did the same. She kept gradually increasing her speed until the two of us were rocketing along the riverbed at top speed. I was never one for going fast in my old life, but I have to admit that this was really fun.

An unexpected turn almost had me slamming into the riverbank, but I laughed with joy as I twisted sharply to make amends for the change in direction. Now Kaa-chan and I were darting through the river on our way to the open ocean she promised was going to be there eventually.

I smiled and sneakily put my hands together, focusing on calling chakra forth. The warm rush of my physical and spiritual energies mixing together made me close my eyes and bask in the sensation for a moment before I directed the chakra to my muscles. I felt the chill of the water lessen and I pumped furiously, determined to get ahead of my mother.

The gap between us lessened and I reached out to grasp her foot. My hand closed around it and I pulled myself over her legs, clambering over my mother's back. I reached her shoulders and hauled myself upwards until I could reach my feet to them. After getting a secure grip I sprang off, stealing her speed and increasing my own.

There was a disturbance in the water as Kaa-chan flailed and I looked back to grin childishly at her. "I'm winning, Kaa-chan!" I chirped. I turned back and sped off as she tried to regain her stroke. "Hariken!" She scolded.

The water convulsed wildly and Kaa-chan gasped in surprise. My head snapped back to look at her, well... her outline at least. That was all the brown water allowed me to see. I saw her outline shake her head then she said, "It's nothing, Hariken. Just some kelp surprising me is all. Keep going!"

The sudden forcefulness from my mother made me blink. That was unusual for her, but I shrugged and continued swimming downriver. She's probably just worried about getting ahead of the Hunter-nin.

 **\/**

* * *

 **Some time later**

The elation of going so fast lasted for a little bit longer after the sudden race. The reality of what was really going on hit me and I stilled for a moment.

My mother and I were running...er, swimming for our lives. From an evil tyrant that would kill the two of us without a second thought, ending not one, but two clans of Kiri. Of which I am the heir of both, unless there were other survivors from the bloodline purges.

I started to daydream then, as I was swiftly making my way down the river with my mother. What if there actually was survivors from the the Umi no Dokuhebi clan or the Shiro-Herarudo clan? Was there more of my father's clan? I found it odd that my father, a member of the Shiro-Herarudo clan would have black hair considering that 'Shiro-Herarudo' meant 'White-Herald.' One would think that they'd all have white hair or something.

Or my dad could just be the black sheep of the family... literally.

I closed my eyes and let out a stream of bubbles from my nose, the closest I'd get to a sigh underwater. It was then that I noticed something strange, when my eyes were closed, I didn't see a brown haze, as I surely would in water this murky. Instead I saw a field of blue and green that was shifting with the water. I turned my head to the direction of my mother and saw... no... felt, a vaguely humanoid yellowish shape ahead of me.

I had no time to ponder this as I felt a pressure in the water behind me. My mother must have noticed this too because she yelled, "Hariken! Get out of way of that suiton jutsu! The Oinin have caught up to us!"

My eyes snapped wide open. _'So soon?!'_ I thought. I pushed my limbs as hard as I could to the left to propel myself away from the attack. I felt the water push me violently to the side as I barely cleared the Hunter-nin's jutsu. _'Suiton... Water attacks in the water... How do we get away from that? The very attacks are invisible!'_

Another jutsu, doton this time, came down at me. I had to dodge to the other side this time to dodge a huge earth spike that would have bisected me. So far, there were two known Hunter-nin in the group chasing Kaa-chan and I, but I suspect that there were more.

I tried to look up out of the muddy river and grinned, the river was too dark to see out of. That means it's too dark to see into at the same time.

"Kaa-chan!" I yelled, "They can't see us!"

She laughed and redoubled her speed. It seems like the little taste of freedom caused her to be more... alive than he'd ever seen her before. I'm going to have to keep an eye on her, she isn't acting very normal. "Go as fast as you can Hariken! We can lose these suckers! None are as fast in the water as one of the Umi no Dokuhebi!" She boasted. "Those stupid as-" She cut herself off and coughed awkwardly, "Jerks can't catch us now!"

It must have not been arrogance, but confidence in her tone as we both forced chakra into our muscles. Strangely, I could feel... something coming from her as we picked up the speed and a faint blue glow shone through the brown water. I looked back and raised an eyebrow. ' _Is that her chakra? I don't think I'm a sensor, I've never even felt anybody else's chakra before. Heck, I don't even know what chakra would feel like from someone other than me.'_

The jutsu immediately stopped after our simultaneous chakra bursts, that made me worried. _'Strange... We've barely gone anywhere but the attacks stopped.'_

It was like someone gave a signal or something...

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach but squashed the feeling to focus on getting away. I caught up to my mother so I could navigate the dark waters better. That was proven to be an intelligent move because the river took a sharp turn to the right and I nearly smacked into the muddy bank if not for Kaa-chan's instinct to grab onto my leg and swing me around.

She bopped me on the head, "Baka. Watch where you're going." She said with a smile. How she could be all smiley in a tense situation is beyond me, must be a ninja thing.

We swam for a while, my sinking feeling returning full force after not being attacked by the hunters after so much time passed.

I may not be a ninja.

Yet.

But, I have learned to trust my gut after twenty-something years.

Something was definitely up here. The Hunter-nin would not be the famous, skilled men and women Kaa-chan said they were if a couple earth spikes and the occasional suiton was all they could do. We were being lured into something big, but what it was, is a mystery.

"There's a bend in the river ahead." Kaa-chan said from where she was swimming along my side. "Once we pass that, the water will clear up." She moved around me in a circle, smiling brilliantly as she did so. Not that I could see her do it. "After that, we're free!"

I gritted my teeth, the gut feeling tugging at me harder. This wasn't normal for Kaa-chan, she was usually a very down-to-earth, serious person. Now she was laughing happily and flitting about without a care in the world.

After about ten minutes of repetitive stroke, stroke, stroking through the water, we reached the bend that Kaa-chan was speaking about. Contrary to what was said earlier by Kaa-chan, the water was almost completely cleared up by now. I reached my hand forward and grasped my mother's shoulder, pulling back slightly in a request to slow down.

Kaa-chan stopped and turned in the water to face me. I raised an eyebrow at her irritated expression."If you've got to pee or something, just do it on the move." She snapped. I gaped at her, this behavior from my mother was all over the place, not like her at all. Seeing as how I didn't respond, her brow furrowed. "I don't have time for your antics Hariken!" Uroko growled before turning away and continuing towards the bend.

My eyes were wide and my jaw was slack in shock. Kaa-chan never acted so angrily like this, even when I was being an idiot or did something wrong. I squeezed my eyes tightly and grabbed two fistfuls of my dark blue hair. This was frustrating! What the heck was with her today?!

I exhaled angrily from my nose and combed my fingers through my hair. Losing my temper would not help me now. Right now, I just need to get to the ocean and away from these Hunter-nin. After that, I can talk with Kaa-chan all I wanted.

Pushing my hands through the water, I started to swim to where Kaa-chan had stopped to cross her arms and stare at me impatiently. "You done?" She snarked. I nodded and took the lead through the bend in the river.

As I led, Kaa-chan's words came true and the river slowly lost its dirty coloring and gradually cleared to a pristine blue. Too bad that we were both caked with mud from the earlier section of the river, and I didn't even think that you _could_ get muddy while in the water.

Fish swirled around in the water happily and various sea plants waved in the water. As I looked at them, I thought _'I wonder what it would be like... To be carefree and just survive like those fish or those plants. Never having to worry about politics or changing the future. Sounds... peaceful.'_

My attention was diverted from the flora and fauna of the river by Kaa-chan coming up to me, trailing a cloud of brown from her clothes. "Hariken. I'll take point now. There's a pond about an hour and a half ahead of us, we can rest there and clean up." I nodded and she frowned.

Apparently, I wasn't enthusiastic enough because she scowled at me and swam off. "Don't lag behind. We'll get there when we get there."

I rubbed my forehead wearily, something was really wrong with Kaa-chan today.

"Hariken!" She called, "Man up! Let's get going!"

My brow creased and I scratched my hands, nails digging deeply into my scales, a nervous tic that managed to carry over into the Naruto universe. Well, not the scales part, but you get the idea.

Kaa-chan's attitude was worrying. She never said anything like 'man up.' Nor was she ever this bossy. As a matter of fact, she had never scowled at me either.

"HARIKEN! LET'S GO!"

"H-hai Kaa-chan!"

A idle thought wormed its way into my head, _'What if that really isn't Kaa-chan? Did something happen when I wasn't looking?'_

That thought hit me like a pile of bricks and I faltered before starting to follow my mother. I desperately tried to think about something else, to convince myself that my mother was fine. But the thought of something happening to Kaa-chan kept distracting me as I swam.

Surely nothing happened to her. She's a kunoichi, and she's trained for this kind of stuff. Kaa-chan is just having a stressful day, that's all. This'll all be over in the morning.

Right?

 **\/**

* * *

About an hour passed with Kaa-chan in the lead before the river widened suddenly to a large pond. We went to the left edge of the pond where the mud sloped upward to make a ramp out of the water.

I walked out of the pond, water cascading off of my body like rivers. The first thing that I noticed was the rain coming down at a steady pace.

I closed my eyes, jaw clenching as memories of that awful night came rushing back to me. It was raining then, too. The day that my entire life changed. The day I died. Funny thing is, that day was my birthday.

Happy frickin' birthday Vince. Oh, so that's what my name was, Vince. The word felt bittersweet in my head and my face twisted into a scowl. I had a good life going on, but that isn't me any longer. Those were not my memories...

Hugging my mother near the doorway. Saying goodbye to her one last time. Her brown eyes.

The weight of the heavy leather coat on my broad shoulders. The heft of the stick-made-'sword' in my hand as I walked down the road. My soggy shoes in the puddles.

My siblings jeering at me for playing around in the back yard when I could be doing something social.

Gerald, always there as a rock to keep me grounded. The panic on his face as he pushed me out of the window.

The cruel, smiling face of the child soldier that ended my life.

No, those were not my memories at all. Those belonged to _him_ , Vince. The chubby giant that was nice to everybody but had no real friends but one. He died five years ago in the rain, barely able to breathe through a broken body.

I AM UMI NO DOKUHEBI HARIKEN!

This is a new life, a second chance given to me that I sure as heck didn't deserve. Why did Shinigami do this for me? If anything, he should be happy that another soul is entering his realm.

I snapped myself out of that dangerous path of thinking. Shinigami said that I had a destiny, and dammit if I don't do it. I will not die early in this life like _he_ did. I will not suffer eternal damnation because I got offed too early by some punks trying to prove themselves.

A hand waved in front of my eyes, getting my attention. I blinked a couple of times and looked at Kaa-chan curiously. "What?" I asked dumbly.

"You okay, Hariken? You kind of spaced out there and did nothing for a solid ten minutes." Kaa-chan said. This was wierd, now she was being back to normal 'concerned, motherly Kaa-chan.'

"I could ask the same of you, Kaa-chan. You haven't been yourself lately."

She laughed and patted me on the head. I tensed, she never did that either. Kaa-chan was more of a hugging person, not mild displays of affection like patting. She knows that it makes me feel like I'm not human, more like a pet that needs attention. "Don't worry, Hariken. I'm just a bit nervous from the Hunter-nin."

I quickly formed a plan in my head. A little test of whether or not this really is my mother. "If you're so nervous, then why are we stopping? We were supposed to swim all the way to Nami no Kuni and then travel to Kumogakure." I said.

Her slitted eyes glinted. "You don't think I know that Hariken? Nami no Kuni is quite a large distance away. The Raikage sent me a letter telling us to come at our pace and that we were welcome to his hidden village any time."

My heart clenched, ' _No, nononono! This is all wrong! We aren't going to Kumo, Konoha is our destination!'_ My fists and jaw clenched and I looked at the ground, my dark blue hair shadowing my face. _'Something has happened to Kaa-chan. This person is not my mother.'_

"One more question, 'Kaa-chan.'" I said, still looking at the ground. One final test, "When will my fangs come in?"

She smiled, and reached to cup my face, "Don't worry Hariken, they'll grow in when you get older!" I glared at 'her' venomously, that was the wrong answer. The fangs come in like the Sharingan of the Uchiha for males like myself.

I crossed my arms childishly and kept glaring. The stranger in disguise looked at me confused and irritated. "What is it now?" 'She' said.

I needed to arm myself. NOW!

I continued to look angrily and said, "You promised that I'd get to have a kunai once we left. I'd be able to throw one for the first time in my life!" That was a lie, but I didn't want the person to know. Besides, if it really was my mother, (which I doubted) she'd protest that and claim she had never said that.

'She' reached down to a kunai holster on 'her' leg and flipped one out. The person handed me the weapon by the blade and I grasped the rough handle with my right hand. Once I had the weapon, I gave the biggest smile I could to the person and wrapped my arms around the person's legs and waist and said, "Thank you, Kaa-chan!" sweetly as I could.

It was definetly a woman, no man had hips like that. This person's henge was not going to fool me for any longer. I'm surprised the technique even lasted for that long, but the Oinin weren't the elite of Kirigakure for nothing.

The woman ruffled my hair, "No problem, kiddo."

I smiled deviously into her stomach, now I could put my plan into motion. Still with the kunai in my right hand, I let go of the person. This was the one chance that I was going to get for this to work.

I gulped nervously, the five-year old mind arguing that I didn't have to hurt this person. I closed my eyes and forced my hesitation down, now was the time for my mature mind to have full control. I couldn't have the naivete or innocence of the young mind have any sway here.

My eyes snapped open and my entire bearing seemed to change, the young mind is no longer in control. The woman that was masquerading as my mother noticed this and was about to jump away from me.

Too late. Being short a perk of being a child, I suppose. I flipped the kunai into a reverse grip and plunged it into the woman's inner thigh, where the femoral artery was. The henge dropped and the woman screamed. She pivoted on her good leg, ripping the kunai out as she delivered a massive punch to my head.

Stars exploded into my vision as I was sent sprawling through the mud near the pond. I lost my grip on the kunai and it skittered into the mud nearby.

"You little BASTARD!" The woman shrieked, clutching her right leg where the cut I made was bleeding heavily. I couldn't see her face through the white porcelain mask she wore, but I bet she was snarling. She was dressed in the traditional Hunter-nin garb from the picture Kaa-chan showed me. A baggy blue kimono top with sash around her middle and baggy striped shorts that went a little under her knees. She wore sandals and her brown hair was tied in a tight bun. "Oh, the Mizukage will be pleased when you're delivered to him, digusting bloodline freak."

Funny, the woman looked a bit like Haku in his hunter-nin disguise.

The woman did several handsigns then whispered too quietly for me to hear. A whip made out of water sprouted from her hands and she drew the arm not stemming blood back. Her arm slashed down and I barely managed to roll out of the way of the whip coming down where I used to be.

My head was spinning and I could barely blink. I felt like I was going to throw up when I opened my eyes. I could see the blur of the whip coming down at my head again and I desperately forced chakra into my muscles, hoping to do something, anything. I kept my eyes closed as I jumped clumsily to the side, avoiding the watery weapon again. When I landed on something pointy, I smiled. The kunai!

I scooped the metal knife up into my left hand, my dominant one and stood up shakily. I was now armed, and thus more dangerous. That stupid Hunter is going to think twice, now!

Or not. The woman was slowing down from blood loss, but swung the whip in a vicious sideways arc that collided with my left side painfully. I was again sent flying and crashed to the ground, landing on my right shoulder. I grunted, but stood again with an aching body and unbreakable will. My mother is in danger, and I'll be damned if I give up from my own weakness.

Let's not sugarcoat things either, I got inhumanly lucky to even get close enough and cut the Hunter-nin that one time. The moment I did that, the fight turned into a waiting game for me. The stakes for losing the game being my life, or hers.

We stood silently at opposite ends of the little mud pit next to the pond. My body tense, ready for action and her body wavering slightly as her life-giving fluid flowed quickly from her. She wouldn't last for much longer, and if I got hit any more, I was done for as well.

Clutching the kunai tightly, I ran towards the woman as best as I could with my injuries. That stupid freaking whip came at me from the left again and I flared chakra to jump over it, towards the woman. When I was about to land on her, I tried to jab the weapon into the arm holding the water whip, but was blocked by the arm that was previously clutching her thigh wound.

The exposed skin on the woman's bloodied hand was white as snow, and she dropped the whip, which promptly splashed harmlessly to the ground. It was a testament to how much blood and strength the woman had lost when she had to bring her other hand up in order to overpower a five-year old kid. Albeit a five-year old with the mind of a twenty-one year old and chakra-enhanced muscles, but a five-year old kid nonetheless.

Now she was holding onto both of my arms to try and force me off of her, but her flagging strength was still enough to have the upper hand and fend me off. So I decided to even the odds a little bit.

I leaned to the side with her injured leg, and her balance faltered. She grunted as a spurt of blood came out of her leg and we both collapsed to the mud below. I moved to straddle her chest and get the weight advantage. With my weight and enhanced muscles pressing down on her, the kunai slowly lowered. No longer was I aiming for the woman's shoulder. This fight was almost over, I was going to make sure of that.

The knife was still going down, but I turned my hands so that it was pointed at the Hunter-nin's left jugular vein. "Tell me!" I snarled, my slit blue eyes flashing dangerously, "Where are you bastards keeping my mother!"

She scoffed, though it was a bit forced, "As if I'd help a bloodline freak! You can rot in hell!"

The kunai reached her pale neck and I pressed it down harshly. "If you tell me, I'll spare you. I'm just a kid!" I pulled a card from my trusty backup plan. My eyes became blurry with crocodile tears, "I-I... I just wanna get to Kaa-chan! W-w-we a-are gonna g-go to K-kumo and l-live happy-y-y!" I 'cried,' my words coming out shakily as I hyperventilated. This was all an act, of course, Vince was an excellent actor when he was alive.

The woman's strength faltered a little bit and I almost sliced her neck open accidentally. Her voice was weak, and I could barely hear what she was saying, but by her tone I knew she bought the story.

"N-neck...lace. Take it! Too much blood gone... I'm dead... soon." She gasped weakly. "Find my... compass in pouch. Go to camp... to North of here. Two other Hunters. Uroko-chan!"

"What about my mother?!" I yelled in 'desperation', "Tell me! Please!"

The woman let go of my arms and reached to take her mask off. I held the kunai to her neck and glared at her the whole time. The white face covering slipped off of her head and I gasped. The reality of what I was doing hit me.

Hard.

The woman looked just like Haku. But that's wrong, because Haku is dead! Am I in the past? If so, how far?

"Uroko was... sister's and my... best friend in the world... You have, your mother's... eyes."

Then the real dread hit me. I was going to kill for the first time, and seriously mess up the story! Naruto will never be shaped into the man he will become.

I stood up and backed away. "No, no no no no no no no! NO!" I shouted. "You can't die! You're needed later!" The kunai fell from my hands limply, and stuck in the mud.

The woman looked confused as the light in her eyes slowly started to fade. I knelt down next to her and placed my scaly hands on her face. Haku's mother's eyes closed and I slapped her cheeks to keep her awake. Tears were cascading down my face as I wept in anguish. "You can't die! No!" I said selfishly.

"Sis..ter... in... camp... Oinin..."

My eyes widened and I looked at her in shock, "You are both oinin?" I whispered to myself. I looked back at the woman beneath me and slapped her cheeks again. "Just stay with me! We can go back to your sister together and let Kaa-chan go!"

Haku's mother smiled fondly, "No..." She breathed as she closed her eyes, "Good..."

"NO!"

"...bye... Hariken-kun..."

With that, the mother of Haku breathed her last.

I cried. Large, sorrow-filled tears dripped down my face as I held her face.

Vince, Eric, Stephanie, Gerald, Mom, Dad... and now Haku's mother. Another person killed in the rain.

And every last one of the deaths was my fault.

 **\/**

* * *

 **After an unkown time**

It was still raining. I don't know how long I sat there in the mud, staring at the face of the woman that would inadvertently make the most powerful man in the shinobi world. I killed her myself. This made me sick to my stomach.

The future is now completely unknown to me wherever it directly concerns Uzumaki Naruto. My kunai stay embedded in the earth next to me, forgotten as I realize the scope of my actions. The world has now been doomed.

No longer would Naruto have the drive to protect his precious people. Pein will destroy Konoha. Tsunade would not return to her home to become the fifth Hokage. Obito Uchiha will project his Sharingan onto the moon.

All because of me.

But.

I could still save two lives. It was the least I could do.

My head rose and I looked into the trees as my eyes flashed dangerously. My mother was still out there, along with the woman's sister. I refuse to let these innocents die.

I rose to my feet and picked up the kunai. Haku's mother wanted me to take her necklace and go to the camp in the North. Her sister and Kaa-chan were there as well. I looked at Haku's mother and bent down to fish the necklace out of her shirt. I grimaced as my hand touched her cold flesh. Around her neck was a simple leather cord and a wooden pentagon with the kanji 'village' on it. I jerked the necklace, snapping the cord off of her cold, dead neck and walked over to where her equipment pouch was strapped to her leg.

I used the kunai to remove the pouch and went over to the other leg to remove the kunai holster. There was some shinobi tape in the equipment pouch, so I used it to secure the pouch and the holster to my legs. Holster on the left, pouch on the right. I slid the kunai into the holster and put the tape and necklace into the pouch.

I was about to head off to where I hoped North would be when I remembered Haku's mother's words

 _'Find my... compass in pouch. Go to camp... to North of here. Two other Hunters. Uroko-chan!'_

I pulled the compass out of the pouch and pointed myself in the right direction. I looked up from my compass and saw that Haku's mother's body was in my path. I closed my eyes solemnly. _'Once I deliver this necklace, there would be nothing to remember her by.'_ I thought. My eyes lit upon the discarded Hunter-nin mask on the ground next to her face. _'Maybe not.'_

Kneeling down next to her, I grabbed the white mask and dipped my fingers in her blood. Slowly, I drew the design that was on Haku's mask from his (her?) time disguised as a Hunter-nin. Once the red swirls were drawn, I put my fingers into the blood again. This time, I wrote a word on the mask, right below the Kiri symbol.

Kokai.

Meaning shame, disgrace, embarrassment, humiliation, dishonor, and most importantly, regret.

Tears dripped down my face, mixed with rain as I stood up. "Never, will you be forgotten." I spoke to the dead body.

I never even knew her name.

I picked up the mask painted with blood and started to walk to the North, guided by the compass. I placed the mask over my face as I walked.

I didn't want my face to be seen after what I had done.

 **\/**

* * *

 **Camp of the Hunter-nin. After thirty minutes of walking.**

I walked for a while through the brush, not stopping once to even fill up my water canister. I didn't know how much time had passed since I walked out of that pond and filled my lungs with air, the thick clouds ensured that.

I heard shouting in the distance and my heart started to race. That was the voice of Kaa-chan! It was too far away for me to tell what the words were, but she sounded very unhappy.

I've never felt so energized in my life as I filled my legs with chakra and took off running. Branches and thorns whipped at my face as I ran, but my scales and the mask protected me from all harm the flora could dish out.

The sound of rustling foliage from my side diverted my attention from running. A log swung at me from the left and I dove forward to escape the trap. "Crap!" I shouted as the log came inches from taking my head from my shoulders. When I rolled to escape, there was a metallic snap and senbon exploded from a bag tied to a tree.

I put my hands up to shield my face from the shower of metal needles. I felt many impacts and pokes, like a hundred doctors got stab happy with their syringes. "Okay. Ow." I grumped after removing my arms from my face to see many metal needles hanging limply from my clothing. My poor tee-shirt will never be the same again.

I scowled as I realized that I'd have to pull every single one out before continuing. I clenched my hands, "Grr! Screw the shirt!" I growled. The stupid thing was too small for me anyways. I gripped the collar and tore the fabric clean off of my torso. My pants were still riddled with needles, so I quickly plucked them out and placed them in a neat pile on top of the discarded shirt.

I rolled up the shirt with all the needles in it and took off toward the sound of my mother's voice. Didn't want to waste perfectly good ninja tools or a shirt now did we? I heard the sound of conflict in the distance and was close enough to hear my mother yell out, "I've got you down, you stupid ice BITCH! Now TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!"

Tears of happiness brimmed in my eyes, Kaa-chan is okay! Pushing even more chakra into my legs, I jumped as hard as I could to the sound of my mother's voice. I burst out of the woods and into a small clearing. It was a very lived-in looking camp, with three tents sitting around a fire pit. Well, there _used_ to be a camp. After my mother had ripped into it, there was a fire pit and scraps of cloth. Possibly what used to be the tents, I couldn't guess if I tried.

Craters were numerous all around and there was the occasional burn mark. Scattered about were the earth spears that had tried to impale me in the water and there was even a puddle giving off sparks. Mizu no Kuni had more suiton and raiton users than doton, katon, and fuuton, so the fact that this team of Hunter-nin could use all of the elements if put together was rare and very scary.

I looked around and raised an eyebrow. Where did Kaa-chan go? There was all this destruction and I heard her voice, so where is she? There was a blur of white from my peripherals and I ducked instinctively. An ice spike whizzed by my head and impaled a tree on the other side of the camp, completely destroying the poor thing. I took a step forward and stepped on something squishy. My heart leapt into my chest and my insides threatened to become my outsides. Though I knew I was going to regret this later, I looked down.

I'd stepped on a pile of guts.

This time, my insides did in fact become my outsides as I turned and retched to the side. I could barely pull it together, but when I did, I risked looking back. I scanned the obvious corpse only long enough to identify that it was male and had a Kiri Hunter-nin mask over its face. That was all I could get before being forced to turn around again.

I don't even want to know what she did to that guy, but it doesn't look pretty.

"I TOLD YOU! WHERE IS MY SON?!" Kaa-chan roared. I nearly jumped out of my sandals. Jeez, woman scared the crap outta me! But she sounded close, that's what is important.

I heard a woman's voice whimper in pain and panic, "I already told you, Uroko! My sister is out there getting him now! That's all I know! He should have been here with her by now."

"Don't you DARE call me by my first name, Kogoemasu! You and your twin sister used to be my best friends back in Kiri, but you have lost that right the moment you joined the Hunter-nin and hunted us down!"

The woman, Kogoemasu was pleading now, "Please Uroko! Don't hurt me! I'm telling the truth! This is all to protect the Kekkei Genkai users!"

This person, Kogoemasu must be the sister of Haku's mother. A sickening thought popped into my head, _'What if this... Kogoemasu is really Haku's mom? What if I just killed an innocent in cold blood?'_

I gulped, the mask on my head seeming far more heavy, so I took it off and strapped it around my thigh. I just couldn't bear the shame.

I decided to take a huge risk. Breathing deeply, I yelled as loudly as I could, "KAA-CHAAAAN! WHERE ARE YOOOOU?!"

My mother's response was immediate, "Hariken-kun?! Son, is that you?!" There was a rustling from the bushes on my right and a mother-missile slammed into me. "Oh, Hariken! My little baby! What happened to you? Where did the holes in your shorts come from? Did they do anything to you? Are you hurt? Your hair is crooked! How could you let that happen? Appearances are important, y'know! Where did that equipment pouch come from? Is your canteen full? What about that holster, huh? Why didn't you find me sooner? Why are you giving me that look?! I was WORRIED SICK about you! Just WHAT happened to your shirt, young man?!" She paused her barrage of mother-henning questions and put her hands on her hips, "Have you eaten?"

I was dumbstruck. "Huh?"

"As a mother separated from her child, the most important question I can ask is if you're fed, so have you eaten?!"

"Uhhh... No?"

Well, unless you count the bitter taste of regret and tears.

My mother was still fussing over me and worrying over my health. She had pinned my down like a panther sizing up its next meal and her mouth hadn't stopped moving from the minute she tackled me. It was starting to get annoying.

"Kaa-chan." I called. When she didn't stop gibbering, I repeated, "Kaa-chan!" a bit more forcefully. Still nothing. I glared at her, "KAA-CHAN!" I yelled. She ceased in her verbal attack and looked at me curiously. "I'm fine." At her disbelieving look I said, "No, really! But I have to talk to that woman, now!" I took the mask from my thigh and the necklace from the pouch, "It has to do with these."

Kaa-chan's hands flew over her mouth and she gasped, tears brimming in her eyes. "K-kama-chan? Something happened to Kogoemasu's sister?"

I lowered my head, hiding my face, unable to look my own mother in the eyes, "Yes." I rasped, so weakly that I could barely hear myself. "She tried to kill me." My legs lost all of their support and I dropped to my knees, dropping the mask and necklace. I buried my face in my hands, "I had no choice. I f-feel..." My throat choked up.

I pulled at my hair in anguish, "I AM SO ASHAMED OF WHAT I'VE DONE! MOTHER! FORGIVE ME!" I wailed. Kaa-chan knelt next to me and pulled me into an embrace. "It's alright," She said, tears finally spilling out, "That is what shinobi must do. You did the right thing. I forgive you."

I looked at her, "How can you forgive me if I just killed your friend!? I can't bear to see my own reflection! How can you take her death so easily?! You knew her!" I cried.

 **SMACK!**

My head jerked to the side, face stinging from the slap. I looked at my mother with betrayal. She was crying openly and she said, "S-she tried to kill my only son! That is unforgivable! You did the right thing in defending yourself, but don't you dare speak of her like I'm not affected by this!" Kaa-chan stood up, dabbing her eyes. "I'm going to take you to Kogoemasu. Come on." She said, offering her hand. She was done talking about the subject. "Now is not the time to mourn her."

I grabbed the mask and necklace, then took the hand and she led me through the thick woods about twenty meters until we came upon another clearing. This one was smaller, and only had a woman in it, but the grass all around where Kogoemasu was laying was all frozen over. I looked at Kaa-chan, "Why isn't she doing anything?"

"She never wanted to fight me in the first place." Kaa-chan sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I slapped a temporary paralyzation tag on her, it will wear off soon."

Kaa-chan and I walked over to the woman on the ground. She was wearing the same exact thing as her sister, except her mask was black. The three of them, Kogoemasu, Kama, and Haku could have all been carbon-copies of one another.

It was actually kinda freaky.

Kaa-chan and the woman had a silent glaring contest before Kaa-chan pushed me forward. "Kogoe-chan, this is my son, Hariken. You know this because your little Hunter-nin group tried to murder the both of us. The only reason you are not dead right now is because of him." My mother walked around Kogoemasu and sat cross-legged across from where I was standing on her one side. "Watch your tongue, Kogoemasu. As a missing nin of Kirigakure no sato, I will not hesitate to kill you. No matter what your past with me is."

The prone woman nodded and Kaa-chan gave me the go-ahead to approach her. I knelt next to her and placed the necklace and mask on the ground. I put my head on the frozen grass, "Your sister... Ka... Kama, was it? Yes, Kama... was killed while trying to capture me. I was the one that killed her, and her final request was that you recieve this necklace."

Kogoemasu closed her eyes. "Very well. That's how it is then." She rose from her position on the ground and sat on her knees. "She was a fool, and could never act as others." She shook her head, "I had to save her life so many times when the three of us were younger. She was the dead last in the academy. My sister barely survived Kiri's genin initiation." She snorted, "That was before the bloody mist."

Even though she spoke so harshly of her sister, she still bowed her head in sadness. "Mother and father favored her above all else. While I am unhappy she is dead, Kama will be mourned." Kogoemasu was silent for a moment, then said. "Would you like to know what the necklace represented?" I said nothing, but she took that as a cue to continue. "That necklace is a promise, that I would retire from being an Oinin and settle down if she ever died." She laughed humorlessly. "The three of us, Uroko, Kama, and I went to the academy together. We were all on the same team under Yagura as our jounin sensei. We were so happy when he became the Mizukage. There was great suffering and great joy after that, and the war diminished our clans very much."

Kogoemasu picked up the necklace and held it up. "The Yuki clan is my clan. I am the only survivor now that Kama is dead. This necklace means that I must go into hiding and remake the clan, as there is no hope for my Kekkei Genkai to survive otherwise." Her attention switched to the mask on the ground, and she placed her own next to it. "Keep the masks, Hariken-kun. Consider it my official resignation from the Oinin corps."

The woman stood up, retying the necklace around her neck. She looked to Kaa-chan on the ground. "I swear to you, Uroko, that I will not tell that tyrannical Mizukage of your whereabouts. I'm moving to Nami no Kuni and rebuilding my life there. Do not follow me, I wish to take my sister's body and mourn her alone." Kogoemasu started to walk to the South, where the body of Kama lay. "You two will get no interference from Kiri shinobi on your way to wherever you're going. If you're going to Konoha, don't swim, there's some confrontation going on in the ocean. If you take the roads, a patrol should meet you on the border as they make their rounds in three days."

She looked to Kaa-chan and smiled wistfully, "My first child's name will be Haku, after your stillborn younger sister. It's the least I can do to honor you, even after we part ways"

As Kogoemasu was left, Kaa-chan stood up to stop her, tears in her eyes. "Kaa-chan!" I snapped. She froze. "Let her go, she is broken and only time can mend the marks on her soul. If you go after her, there is nothing stopping her from killing herself."

I strapped both of the masks to my legs and bowed to Kogoemasu's back. "Goodbye, Yuki-san. Thank you for not demanding my life for reparations of your sister's death. Your mercy shall be known."

"Goodbye, Hariken-kun. I will never see you again."

I walked over to Kaa-chan and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. "I was so scared." I admitted to her. I was about to say something else when my stomach rumbled loudly.

Kaa-chan laughed, unspilled tears hanging in her eyes, "Let's get you something to eat." She said, looking to Kogoemasu's back. She picked me up and held me close, whispering in my ear, "You did not want Kama to die, and you protested me going after Kogoe-chan. You are a man of great mercy, Hariken-kun, just like Kogoemasu-chan."

I burrowed into my mother's warmth and she smiled, humming and rocking me as I fell asleep in her arms, mentally exhausted.

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: That's all for this chapter. I have plans for the small family of two reaching Konoha next chapter. Tell me if my characters are Gary Stu or Mary Sue and I ask that you review. Shout out to Fidelis Virtue (in real non-internet life), and InfectedElite (via a review) for giving me the kick in the pants needed to eventually finish the chapter... Thought it took a couple of months.**

 **If you haven't noticed, the chapters in this story are relatively shorter than Mokuzai-Mokuzai no Mi (if you even bothered to look at it). I don't know why, it just feels better with shorter chapters. I mean sure, I could write all the way to Konoha, but I feel that'd make the chapter dry and unnecessarily long.**

 **Therefore, Konohagakure is next chapter.**

 ***shrugs* At least the chapter is up. I know for a fact that all of you will be extraordinarily irate if I slacked off any more in getting this chapter to all of you. Truth be told, I just wasn't feeling it until recently.**

 **Anyways, I'll blab at you in the next AN. Don't forget to write a review if I did something wrong or could have done better. I have no beta and frankly have no idea how to get one so my writing is kinda... raw. I apologize for that.**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun.**


	3. Chapter 3: Konoha? Meh, Kinda

**Chapter 3: Konoha? Meh, Kinda.**

 **AN: Sorry about the wait, some stuff happened and school is absolutely kicking my butt. I haven't really had that much of a chance to write in length like this for a while. I finished rewriting chapter 1 in Mokuzai Mokuzai no Mi, and now I'm going on to this. Once this chapter is posted, I'll go back to my rewrite of Mokuzai, then back to Juuichi, and so on.**

 **I just wanted to tell all of you that my Grandma passed away recently, and I haven't written since then, If you're concerned about my lack of activity, that'd be why.**

 **On to other things. If you look up the "Official" Naruto timeline, you will notice that the second and third Great Shinobi Wars happened within years of each other, and that they are actually a couple of years before Uzumaki Naruto was born (the third war having ended one year beforehand).**

 **What I put in, I put in intentionally. I am aware that Uroko said the wars had already happened, you will find out why I did that.**

 **Like Mokuzai, I'm going to write in English for the most part, but I will try my best to use Japanese honorifics, attacks, and the like. For example, I would use: Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu! instead of: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**

 **If you think about it, the Japanese sounds cooler, and the English translations can be kinda dumb. " Almighty Push" doesn't hold a candle to "Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God" or more simply, "Shinra Tensei"**

 **Thank you for your time, I'm not going to delay you any longer, except to ask that you review. I seriously need to know what you all think, so that I can improve my writing.**

"Speech"

 _'Thought/other'_

 **"Attacks! (Translations!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

In an Unknown Place

An old man with long grey hair the color of ashes tilted his head upwards. Wrinkled and cracked with age, the man's still stern visage was a sight to behold despite the blanket of grey covering his right eye. In the visible socket was an onyx-black eye, which, faster than any person could blink, morphed into red, leaving a black pupil surrounded by three black tomoe. Each tomoe had a red circle inside of them and there were three black lines running from the outside of the connected tomoe to the edge of the man's irises. The ancient man breathed out sharply and hummed, his voice surprisingly strong for one that appeared so old. "Mmm." The man blinked his one visible eye lazily, "Now this is interesting. I've not felt that chakra for many years…" The man tapered off into silence and stood from his cross-legged position with the assistance of a long-handled sickle, called a kama. "Nothing can hide from the greatest sensor in the world." The man chuckled at this and focused his sensory powers at one point near the borders of Mizu no Kuni and Hi no Kuni, closing his eyes. "The two of them must have had some powerful protections to hide for that long." He said, intrigued. "It doesn't matter that any of the Shiro-Herarudo survived. The child travelling with the Umi no Dokuhebi will not live long enough to experience his freedom before his life is extinguished."

The man opened his eyes and barked out a command, "Zetsu!"

A vaguely hominid shape slunk around so the man could see it responded with an oily voice, "Yes, Madara-sama?" It straightened up, the tangible shadow it was made up of taking on the shape of a man. "What do you require of me?" It asked.

"The bastard descendant of the one they call Shiro-Herarudo is still alive. End him and his Umi no Dokuhebi mother."

"Your will be done, Madara-sama." The black shape replied reverently.

Uchiha Madara, the one known as the "Ghost of the Uchiha Clan" nodded as what he thought of as the physical manifestation of his will disappeared from the place he was in. He had to end this unexpected development before it became… troublesome. "The Umi no Dokuhebi woman does not matter, they were doomed to die anyway," Madara said to himself. "...but the survival of the Shiro-Herarudo is unacceptable."

 **\/**

* * *

 _I was sitting in my house, with my rump firmly planted in my plush office chair, the epitome of relaxation, breathing in the soft, even way that sleepers usually do. The walls were a pale green and my posters leered at me from the walls, Shrek and Donkey grinning at me, Spongebob singing his fool lungs out at the bubble bowl, and a couple of Bills players making their highlight plays of the year. My brown eyes slid open slowly, and I took my glasses off to give them a wipe. After replacing them into their natural position, I pondered on the dream I had and chuckled, my rather rotund stomach bouncing with each hearty exhalation. "Mm." I said with a smile, "That's enough Naruto. I'm going to go and watch One Piece for a while after that… whatever that was. That way, I'd have less chance to have these crazy dreams."_

 _I grunted and swung myself forward, effectively catapulting to my feet. Pushing the door open, I walked up the staircase and trudged into the living room, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My nose twitched, smelling the entrancing scent of pizza and buffalo wings. Right there, sitting on the ottoman was a pizza box with a big ol' plate of wings sitting next to it. Next to the lovely sight, there was a note, written on a pink sheet of lined notebook paper. 'Vince,' It read, 'Your father and I went out on a date. The house is all yours until we get back. Don't forget that there is juice and bleu cheese is in the fridge. -Mom' Next to the message was a little heart drawn in red pen, which I blushed at. It was the thought that counts, but that didn't mean she could display her affection for her child so blatantly. That would be like making out with somebody in the middle of a four way intersection with signs saying "We're in love!" With arrows pointing to the two of you. Not okay. But, she's my mom, so I guess they can get away with stuff like leaving embarrassing hearts after their messages. I got up with a happy sigh and went to the kitchen to retrieve the items in question. The only conclusion that could be drawn from this is that: My mom rocks._

 _I plopped back down on the couch and picked up the plate of spicy goodness. 'Man, these days are the best.' I thought while chowing down, 'I caught up on some sleep, my homework is finished, and I've got a free night with good food. What else could somebody want?'_

 _I set the plate down, not wanting to kill my tastebuds and preventing myself from tasting this wonderful meal. Next I reached for the box and flipped the top to get a glimpse of the greasy goodness. I looked at the pizza pie and froze, inscribed on the little plastic table thing was a single symbol, one that I had drawn in my weird Naruto dream._

 _Kokai._

 _I flinched at the kanji and reeled backwards, breathing heavily, letting the box lid fall back down over the food.. Surely this was just melted plastic left over from the factory… Right?_

 _It's no mystery that I lost my appetite then. My jaw clenched and with the stalwart strength of my stubbornness, I opened the box. If I had to, I'd force myself to eat, and I'd ENJOY IT!_

 _The first thing that I saw when I opened the box was the pale, smiling face of Kama on every single slice, where before there was a normal pie. Blood leaking between the slices where the cuts were. I immediately regretted my previous thought of forcing myself to eat it._

 _But my body had a mind of its own. I reached for a piece against my will, looking on in horror as my own body rebelled against me. The face of Kama opened her eyes as I brought it to my mouth and she smiled._

" _Bye… Hariken…"_

 _I bit down on the smiling face, which tasted of ash in my mouth._

 _Vince grinned as blood dribbled down his chin._

 **\/**

* * *

"NO!"

I woke up with a scream, startling the blue-scaled woman into dropping me into the muddy dirt, images of my nightmare lingering a couple of seconds after my awakening. Placing my hand on my chest to calm my racing heart, I looked at the woman with incomprehension until a little voice in my head seemed to whisper, _'mother.'_ She had a somber expression on her face, and it made me feel a little more empty on the inside. She knew exactly what the subject matter of my nightmare was. _'This isn't real. Vince is dead! I am Hariken!'_ I thought furiously to myself. I gulped and breathed out raggedly, "Is it normal Kaa-chan? Seeing the faces of those that were… th-that were…" I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

She nodded, making her blue hair ripple over her shoulders. She knelt down next to me and drew me into a hug, which I melted into instantly, clutching her like a lifeline. She whispered words of comfort into my ears, which I didn't hear. Kaa-chan picked me up and continued walking to the Hi no Kuni border, where we were supposed to find the patrol. "It is normal, Hariken. Every shinobi worth their salt is plagued by nightmares of the ones that were slain. I see Taimu-kun every couple of weeks in my sleep. He is so handsome every time I see him, but I know that I have to wake up." Kaa-chan got a haunted look in her slitted, snake-like blue eyes. "Every time, it's the night that I lose him. The nightmare then goes to make me relive cousin Aoa's wedding. Yagura driving his kunai into her throat." A single tear dripped down my mother's face, "Aoa's face… was one of shock and betrayal. Those were the days that haunt my dreams to this day."

Kaa-chan set me down and turned her back to me, not wanting me to see her cry, but it was too late. My lips thinned, my expression becoming stony. How come the best people get the worst cards dealt in life? That single tear that rolled down her cheek will forever be burned into my mind, along with the faces of the women Kaa-chan thought of as her sisters. Kama's pale face, smiling in the rain. Kogoemasu with her eyes closed in solemn acceptance as she was told of her sister's death. I fisted my hands into my shoulder-length blue hair and huffed out a breath. I didn't like seeing people in pain, physical or otherwise. Yet another thing that carried over from my life as Vince.

Together, the two of us walked in silence for a couple of minutes before finding a wide, dirt road that wound through the thick forests of Hi no Kuni. My heart lightened considerably, and I tugged on Kaa-chan's Kirigakure jounin flak jacket excitedly. "Look, Kaa-chan, a road! We're almost to the border patrol!"

She gasped and looked up, obviously shaking herself from deep thoughts. My smile drooped at that. She was a ninja, and trained to notice things, so how was I supposed to do what she does when she was all spacey? I mean, we could get attacked at any moment. I wasn't the trained one here, so any surprise attack would catch both of us unawares. I saw Kaa-Chan drifting off again, turning her attention inward as she started thinking heavily. I sure as heck didn't want to get attacked when the two of us were so close to getting somewhere in this life of ours, so I tugged on her flak jacket again. She looked at me with distracted eyes and I asked, "Kaa-chan? Is this even the right way?" At this, she blinked, looking at me with confusion before realization dawned on her. Finally, I seemed to have shaken her out of the funk she had been in. The tension that had been unconsciously building in my body sloughed off like loose human skin. Well, nobody but myself and Kaa-chan know what that feels like, so let's just say I was very relieved.

Kaa-chan facepalmed and looked up to see the dense canopy of leaves above her. She tutted and rummaged around her tool pouch, only to not be able to find what she was looking for. "Kuso!" She swore, "I must have dropped it when I was fighting!" Kaa-chan faced me and turned me around by my shoulders, plunging a hand into my own tool pouch. I sweatdropped and craned my head around to look at what she was doing. "Uhh, Kaa-chan? What're you looking for?" I asked, only to be answered by her triumphant exclamation. She held out the item in her hands, and I cringed. I did not enjoy reliving the memories that seeing the object made. She held the compass that I had taken from Kama's body (on her orders, so it was okay) and smiled. "Once I reorient us, we'll be at that border patrol in no time!"

I just nodded, not wanting to distract her from finding our position in the world lest she go back into her funk. Allowing her to slip back into it would probably end with the both of us getting killed.

After all, this world is like the Inkworld. A world full of beauty, and a world filled with peril.

 **\/**

* * *

A Couple of Hours Later

As of now, Kaa-chan and I had been walking on the road to Konoha for about two days. Well, I suppose it should be called the 'The Road of Life' by now with all the aimless wandering that the two of us were doing. If one really looked into it, they could probably come up with some philosophical thing. I could see it now, an old monk guy with a stringy fu manchu nodding sagely, while saying, "I see, my child. You call this the road of life because on it, your life shall change forever. Very wise, young man, very wise." After the old monk would say that, the rest of the men would get up and do a song and dance routine about changing one's life along the fateful road.

Ha! Beat that for an excuse, Kakashi.

My mind wandered, trying to picture what that situation would turn out to be like, with the lazy scarecrow sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck the entire time. _'Well, you see my cute little genin, I was lost on the road of life and I had to find a troupe of dancing monks to regain my ways. You should have seen the oldest man's moves, he was at least seventy years old and shakin' it alongside the rest of them. Rather awe-inspiring if I do say so myself. So, who's ready for teamwork exercises?'_ I chuckled darkly at the last part. That would be something that Kakashi would _so_ do to his team.

With a sigh, I looked around, dispelling my ruminations. Kogoemasu said that the border patrol had been a couple of days away, and it had been two since she walked off in the direction of Nami no Kuni. By that logic, we should have already met up with the patrol, or at least have gotten wind of them. As much as I hate to admit it, I had a bad feeling about this. Just like when we were in the river, my stomach sunk. Seriously, this kind of thing is starting to get old, even after one time. When things do not go the way they are meant to, boy, do they _really_ not go the right way. It seems the laws of the world for the nice guys hold fast in all universes. If you're a good guy, then you get screwed over. I guess the bright side to that all was that the nice guys always end up on top, even if they finish last.

Does that mean that I'm a good guy?

That made me feel a little better, but Kaa-chan and I still have to get to Konoha. If we even made it.

I yawned, flicking my forked tongue out of my mouth, tasting the air. All this walking was getting boring. Ever since my tongue split when I was younger, I could smell with it, just like reptiles can. The sensation was very strange, because it was far more precise than using my nose to smell things, but I eventually got used to it. Occasionally, I would forget that I could use this… sixth sense, and surprise myself. So far, using my tongue like that was (in my opinion thus far) the most useful when Kaa-chan was cooking so I didn't have to constantly inhale deeply to smell whatever it was. All that deep breathing gets old, really fast. Did I mention that Kaa-chan makes some very aromatic meals?

I sighed, _'I hope something happens soon, this is getting boring.'_

Curse my impatient child's brain! Right before I closed my mouth at the end of my explosive yawn, I caught a flicker of a scent that wasn't there before. I had been periodically checking for new smells, and this one definitely was not there before. Whatever it was, I did not have a name for it. Like… bad eggs thrown out into the hot sun to fester for days. Altogether not very pleasing to the olfactory organs.

I was about to let Kaa-chan know but I was rudely interrupted. A shout rang out through the dirt road and I was too slow to do anything about it, **"Fuuton: Daitoppa! (Wind release: Great Breakthrough)"**

At this, hurricane-force winds tore through the trees of the road to Hi no Kuni, so powerful that I was swept off of my feet and into the brush, separating Kaa-chan and I. The moment I landed on the muddy ground my attacker was upon me, pressing his black hands on my throat. He lifted me up in a choke hold and I could get a good look at the man. His body was completely black, with two yellow glowing eyes and a grinning maw full of razor-sharp pearly white teeth. Probably a genjutsu to hide his appearance... or to intimidate, because whatever it was, it worked. He leaned in close to my ear, "Let's put on a show, shall we?" The black silhouette of a man crooned. I struggled in his grip, and jammed a fist into the insides of the thing's elbows. The thing's grip loosened, dropping me with a snarl and I wheezed a breath into my lungs just in time to have said air be driven right back out by a vicious kick to my tender ribs. The blow sent me sprawling into the grass. I choked back a yell of pain and clutched my side, my head and ribs pounding from the abuse caused in my previous fight with Kama.

I am certainly not enjoying two consecutive beatdowns thus far.

Not missing a beat, the dark man waltzed over to me and slammed a foot down onto my right shoulder, pinning me beneath his foot. Not one to turn over and submit, I pushed chakra into my free arm and swung a fist at the man's ankle as hard as I could. But he was too smart. With mirth in his yellow eyes, the thing hopped over my strike and stomped both of his feet into my elbows, making me scream. With my arms practically disabled, I could do nothing but watch as he held a hand up. The black material that made up his body writhed around his right arm and changed shape until there wasn't a hand on the end of his arm any more, but a long, thin spike. Perfect for driving into the faces of helpless children. As I looked into those malicious eyes, I saw the eyes of a child in this same position with a gun pointed between my eyes to end me, but this time there was no way I was going to let the Shinigami down.

Thankfully, Kaa-chan had me working religiously on flexibility when we sparred, so I was able to swing my legs up and wrap them around the thing's waist. I channeled chakra into my back muscles and my legs, then flung the dark being off of me. To my surprise, he slammed into a tree and didn't get up. I stood slowly, cautiously watching to see if this was all an elaborate ruse. My common sense was screaming at me to run away, that he wasn't possibly done with yet, but I foolishly ignored it. My adrenaline was on full blast, and I was in fighting mode. I picked my way around the bushes to the downed form and gasped when the thing's face finally registered.

At my feet in a crumpled position, was dark Zetsu. I stumbled back and tripped on a root protruding from the ground, hitting the dirt hard. _'No, this can't be happening! This isn't happening! Am I too far into the timeline to do any good? But Kaa-chan said the bloodline purges were still going on, so that makes it a couple years before Naruto! Why is Zetsu here?!'_ I thought frantically. I looked at Zetsu and my stomach felt like it dropped into my colon as the horror and dread filled my lungs. My chest was heavy and I felt like I was going to crap myself. I couldn't even think, so my mouth made the words instead of my mind. "What the hell is going on here? What does Uchiha Madara want with me? I'm nothing!"

Zetsu chuckled and rose to his feet, putting me on edge in an instant. As if he were never hit in the first place, the dark being strode to where I was laying and crouched down to peer into my eyes. "Oh, that's where you are wrong, _Gentle Giant_." At the utterance of those words, I scooted back in horror. _'How does he know that name?!'_ I thought fervently. Zetsu grinned maliciously at my shock and followed me until I was pressed against a thick tree. "Madara has nothing to do with this. You, on the other hand, have everything to do with this." The black being, still smiling released so much killing intent that I felt like my soul was going to be torn from my body again. My eyelids fluttered and the ground rushed up to meet me, my legs no longer able to support me. Unconsciously, I pushed as much chakra as I could out of my body, letting it burst out in a bright shroud of ethereal blue. Zetsu's black skin hissed and he leapt back, apparently burnt by my violent expulsion of chakra. "Stupid child! You will fall just like so many others before you!" By now, the brief flare of chakra had dissipated and Zetsu wasted no time in throwing a savage right hook into my jaw. "So be a good little boy and go down quietly!" I curled up in a ball after that, cradling my face with a low moan of pain.

"As a matter of fact, the only thing you need to do is become close enough to dying so I can possess you." Zetsu said with a sadistic grin. "Madara doesn't need to know anything at all. I'll possess you, then hide your body away with enough drugs pumped into you that not even the Kyuubi would be able to do anything but drool. Mother has a… way with her powers so you won't feel a thing! Once Madara is d-"

 **"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu! (Water release: Water Bullet Jutsu)"** A woman's voice shouted. A sphere of water the size of a cannonball slammed into Zetsu, effectively cutting him off and blasting him through about five trees and a nasty-looking thornbush. "GET AWAY FROM MY SON!" Kaa-chan roared. Never have I ever been so glad to hear her voice. I felt my limp body being hoisted up by strong arms and my mother shunshinned out of the area. I felt the world lurch around me from the sudden usage of the teleportation jutsu. As rattled as I was (and running low on chakra), I could only blearily see the trees whizzing by as Kaa-chan frantically jumped along the green canopy. It was like there was a clear slimy liquid over my eyes and it was driving me absolutely nuts!

"Kaa-chan." I croaked, trying to desperately get her attention. This is not a fight that either of us could win. My mother cradled my face into her shoulder and hushed me urgently. "Shh, shh, Hariken-kun. Everything is going to be okay. Let Kaa-chan take care of this."

No, everything's not going to be okay, if we don't find that border patrol, we were going to die, guranteed. Then a chilling thought struck me, _'What if there is no patrol?'_ If Kogoemasu lied to us, and there is no Konoha nin in the area, we are screwed. I cursed Kogoemasu in my head, and repeated my call to my mother. This time, I got her attention. "What?" She hissed with a tense look in her eyes. She was prepared for a fight, to lay her life on the line and enter the age old struggle of kill or be killed. I shook my head, the action causing my neck to twinge something fierce. That stupid shadow jerk wasn't fooling around when he had me in a choke hold. "Run." I said with a cough, "We can't win this. He's too strong."

She smiled faintly at me, her blue eyes and scales glimmering through the patchy sunlight of the forest ceiling. Ever since I discovered her scales, she had not worn the henge to disguise them. An improvement in my eyes. She stopped tree-jumping and dropped to the forest floor, the landing not jostling me in her arms at all. She carried me over to a large hollowed-out tree and set my limp, aching form down. By now, I had somewhat recovered from the feeling of impending doom, but I still expended a lot of chakra trying to signal the patrol. Uroko started to do a rapid sequence of hand-signs, and looked at me sadly. "It is the duty of a mother to protect her children, no matter what. You'll learn this when you have kids." She said. Her expression hardened and she gave me a stern look, "So stay here and shut up while I deal with this guy. I've delayed for too long"

Some leaves behind Kaa-chan crunched and Zetsu's grinning black face appeared. "Yes," He hissed. "You've dithered for far too long, Umi no Dokuhebi. Now, you need to DIE!" The last part was shouted as Zetsu thrusted the sharpened black appendage that used to be his right arm into my mother's spine. She screamed in pain and was held upright for a moment before Zetsu jerked his arm back, tossing Uroko aside like trash. I saw red, and when she hit the grass I gathered what dregs of chakra I still had left from my little outburst and shoved it into my muscles, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Zetsu stepped over her body carelessly, giving her a solid kick as he went by. The black being turned his ever-present grin to me and raised the bloody spike to his mouth, letting his tongue trail over the blood. If possible, the grin widened. "Your dead mother," He said, closing in on my prone form, "Tasted delicious." I looked at my mother's face desperately, searching for anything to give a hint to her survival. When Zetsu passed, she slowly dragged her head up to look at me and through the curtain of her hair, winked one blue slitted eye at me. My own set of blues widened, _'What does she have planned?'_ The dark being didn't notice this, instead cackling madly and pointing the very same appendage that killed my mother at me. "You stupid boy. Would you honestly think that your pathetic attempts at attacking me would actually do anything? I must admit, I was caught off guard by you suddenly dumping your reserves. Tsk tsk tsk, has mommy dearest been teaching her boy some naughty secrets?" Zetsu leaned over and with a wicked smile, whispered, "I have plans, Shiro-Herarudo. Plans that are much larger than this." His voice lowered even further, so only I could hear, "I will let you live, no, I want you to live, Shiro-Herarudo. I will watch you become drunk on your own power, then I will give you more and watch as you spiral into darkness. The first gear has been set into motion already, all you can do now is fall." The malevolent being finished with a jaw-breaking grin.

The downed form of my mother turned transparent before it turned into water, sploshing over the green grass noisily. Zetsu turned around, instantly on his guard when a shout rang out from behind me. **"Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Cannon Jutsu)"** Uroko announced while letting loose a jet of boiling hot water at Zetsu, who had turned around too late. The black being snarled at her, "NO!" before the heavy mass of high-speed water impacted with his chest of shadows so hard that Zetsu's spiked right arm was torn cleanly out of its socket. I made use of the chakra enhancing my otherwise useless body and leapt to my feet. "Kaa-chan, we've got to go, now!" I shouted.

She grabbed me around the waist and slung me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You aren't the adult here, young man!" She snapped, but complied otherwise. The way I was positioned was to allow for maximum vision on my end, so it was no surprise when she told me to keep an eye out for the man. Like a rocket, Kaa-chan sped off into the woods, glancing at the compass quickly so that she could get the general direction to Konohagakure. It was Northwest, by the way, about a day to the Daimyo's palace and another two at full ninja speed to the hidden village. That is, if we'd even make it out of this conflict. My plan to get to Konoha was still on, we could still do this. All we had to do was get away from Zetsu.

Easier said than done. I closed my eyes and focused on that feeling I had when I was in the water, that thing where I couldn't see out of my eyes, but still see yellowish and greenish shapes. After a couple of seconds of having my eyes closed, the hazy yellow faded into view. I could see long vertical objects whipping by as we passed through some of Hi no Kuni's endless forests, the foliage only thickening the deeper Kaa-chan and I travelled into the nation. I raised my hands in front of my closed eyes and gasped when I saw that this new… whatever this vision thing was… made my hands glow red. I 'looked' down to Kaa-chan's legs and grinned when I saw that they were yellow, and whenever some of her skin was exposed, the part became red. I grinned widely, _'Heck yeah! I'm really digging this snake theme! I've got gills… which I can't really explain, scales, crazy swimming abilities, fangs that are going to come in soon, and now I have this sweet infrared vision thing going on! Being an Umi no Dokuhebi rocks!'_ With new confidence, I tilted my head to 'look' behind us and into the greenery.

I was so fascinated by seeing the indigenous life forms glow and move around that I almost missed the hominid shape moving quickly towards the two of us. And it was gaining. Fast.

My eyes widened, "Kaa-chan, that thing isn't dead! He's gonna catch us in a couple of minutes!" I said worriedly.

She gritted her teeth and jumped harder, "This is starting to get ridiculous!" She growled. "Hold on Hariken, I'm going to get us out of here." Forming a single handsign, Kaa-chan performed a powerful shunshin. Let me tell you, experiencing the teleportation technique while your head is pounding, your ribs hurt, and while being slung over someone's shoulder is not fun. Did I mention that my eyes were blurry? Oh, let's not forget this infrared vision stuff was still active. Imagine seeing a whirlwind of rainbows flashing by directly in front of your unblinkable eyes, so bright that you get vertigo from simply looking at it. That would be only the vision aspect. Add on the shopping list of other things that have happened to me and you've got a cocktail of unpleasantry. So it's only natural that my gut wrenched, and I had to clench my teeth tightly in order to keep from projectile vomiting all over the tree limb that the two of us landed on.

My mother's knees wobbled and she lowered herself down to kneel on the thick branch, placing a scaled hand onto the rough bark to steady herself. When she regained her bearings after a couple of seconds of heavy breathing, she let out a huff of relief. "Whew. I haven't shunshinned that far in a long time." She remarked to herself. Gently, Kaa-chan set me down and told me to use tree-walking to stick to the surface. I nodded and closed my eyes until the world stopped lurching around me.

I groaned and sat up, wincing at the stab of pain in my ribs. I cringed again when I went to massage them and my elbows screamed in protest. "Urgh. Is there any part of me that doesn't hurt?" I asked myself idly. That got Kaa-chan, who was now sitting against the tree trunk's attention. "You're hurt?" She asked with a bit of worry. I nodded and she frowned, probably berating herself for not being there either time. "Don't." I said, a little harshly. "Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened to me. Now is not the time! Worry about all this after we get to safety." Her expression tightened, but she nodded anyways. Wanting to get more info I asked, "So how far did you shunshin? The second time was way worse than the first."

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, careful not to touch the gills on the back of her neck. "Well, uh. I did something that isn't exactly recommended. You do know that the longer the distance you go in a shunshin, the more chakra, right?" I nodded, and Kaa-chan continued, "Well, I uh, just went over three miles. Heh, whoops. Even with me being a jounin, kinda not good. What's more? My reserves were severely depleted after destroying that entire team of Oinin a couple of days ago. They really don't make 'em like they used to. In smaller words, my little child, not enough chakra left to fight." She summed up.

My eyes nearly bugged out of my skull. "WHAT?!" I asked loudly. "Why'd you do that? Are ya tryin' to get us killed?!" She snorted very unladylike at this and looked at me with an 'are you kidding me?' look. "Please, Hariken. The world's fastest shinobi takes about five minutes to cover that distance, and the last I heard, the Raikage is still up in Kumo. So sit down and rest, you look like you're about to collapse, and I don't want you to fall the entire way down this tree when I can barely stay awake to keep an eye on you." She said. I took a closer look at her and discovered that she was right. "We have about two hours I think before that guy catches up to us." My mother was hardly able to keep her slitted eyes open, and she was slumping heavily on the trunk of the enormous tree we stopped on, only staying on the branch with incredible balance and the fact that he was straddling the thing. "Shouldn't we be trying to get ahead of him then?" I asked. She shook her head, "If I hadn't shunshinned, both of us would be dead. I can't really move all that much right now. We both are suffering from chakra exhaustion right now. All we can really do right now is stay here and try to recuperate. We move later." There is nothing I can really do right now, so I might as well get comfy. So I crawled over to where she was and leaned against her, trying to offer comfort in whatever way I could.

She chuckled and drew me into a warm embrace. I peered up at her and looked into her eyes, which met mine. "Are we really going to make it, Kaa-chan?" She, with her eyes still locked onto my hopeful ones, tightened the hold she had on me.

"We have to, Hariken-kun. If not for our survival, then for Taimu-kun's memory."

With that, my mother used a handy little ninja trick and fell asleep instantly, leaving me to have no choice but to follow her example. After all, I was going nowhere with the grip she had on me.

 **\/**

* * *

A loud crack reverberated from below me and my eyes flew open. _'How long has it been?!'_ Was the first thought I had. Despite my waking consciousness, I could see nothing in the darkness. Casting my glance upwards, I could see that night had descended, creating a blanket of absolute blackness under the sprawling canopy of the trees the Shodaime Hokage had made. I stayed as still as the adrenaline starting to surge through my veins allowed me to. I strained my ears, listening for any more noises, but there was silence other than the even breathing of Kaa-Chan as she slept blissfully unaware. Not even the creatures of the night were singing their songs. No crickets, no frogs, no cicadas, nothing. To be cliché, it was quiet, too quiet.

Then a hearty smack was heard from below me, in the same area that the crack had come in. "Oww! What'd you do that for?" A deep, male voice said loudly. There was frantic whispering, quiet enough that I could not make out the words, but loud enough that I could hear it. The loud man grumbled after the whispering stopped, and said more quietly (though still quite loud), "Alright, alright. I'll keep it down. Just for you. I just don't see the need to be silent in friendly territory. I mean, we're in Hi no Kuni already!" My heart jolted, _'The border patrol! It's here!'_

The other person sighed and I heard a thump, the person probably sitting down heavily. "I know that, but we _are_ still at war." The person, a woman, said softly. "Just because we're in the Land of Fire, doesn't mean that we aren't in danger. What's worse is your unruly mop looks like snow, and it isn't even winter."

 _'Great,'_ I thought, rolling my eyes, my joy not diminishing whatsoever. _'A war, exactly what I needed right now. I don't think Konoha is going to receive a couple of Kiri refugees with open arms if war is afoot.'_ On the topic of war, I shimmied out of my mother's sleeping death grip she had on me. Not using chakra, because that would be a big no-no around potential enemies, I crept along the branch until I was roughly over the two shinobi. All I could see were a couple of silhouettes, but that was the best I was going to get right now. Well, unless they start a fire. _'Finally, a chance to learn about where I am right now.'_ Boy, am I taking a big chance here. If these Konoha-nin have a beef with Kiri and I was discovered, then I was absolutely screwed. The man and woman were on either sides of a log, the man sitting on a cylindrical shape and the woman was on the bare, muddy ground. Rather inconsiderate for the guy in not offering his seat, but it was probably the woman's call.

The man snorted, "You don't think I know that? You know as well as I do that war is hell. And you also know that the reasons for this conflict are stupid. Those greedy businessmen in the council can go screw themselves as far as I care. 'Money and land' they say for support of the war. Idiots, every last one of them!" He scoffed after that. _'Amen, brother. You're preaching to the choir.'_ "You know what? I'm going to write a book, and it's going to be an inspiration to people all over the world to not be involved with economics… And don't act like my hair sticks out when your blonde is just as bright as my white!"

The woman grunted in amusement, "And I'm sure that everyone around the world is going to come to your book signings with their old worn-out clothing and the holes in their pockets. Face it, if your book is going to change the world, give it more meaning than to encourage the people to not own money for fear of going into business. Kami forbid that people have normal, happy life with full pockets. No, _nooo_ , we simply _must_ be poor and miserable." She finished with a dollop of sarcasm. _'If that's what it takes for people to not be sheeple, then that's a necessary evil, woman.'_ I thought, continuing my mental commentary. A heavy silence descended upon the two talkers before the woman sighed. "Look, if you want a good idea to write a book on, write it on something you are longing for the most. And my hair is perfectly acceptable, thank you very much."

It seemed she spoke too soon because the guy murmured to himself, "What I'm longing for the most…" before dissolving into a fit of oddly high-pitched giggles. I was going to facepalm, but was stopped by the fact that the sound would spell out certain death for my mother and I. _'Idiot.'_

Thus ended the woman's qualms about being quiet.

A couple of seconds later, the man let out a squawk that was abruptly muffled by a mushy thud. The woman had darted forward so quickly that I could have sworn I blinked, grabbing the man by his broad shoulders and bodily lifting him up- thus the squawk- and planting his face into the mud, thus the thud. "I swear to Kami!" The woman said threateningly, pointing a finger at the man who could obviously not see her. The rest of her threat really had no need to be spoken, but she said it anyway, "Every time I hear that stupid dirty giggle of yours I'm going to plant your face through the next three walls I see!"

The man lay there unmoving for such a long time before I was starting to debate whether I just witnessed a murder in front of my very own blue eyes. Perhaps I should use the built-in thermal vision thingie on my forehead to see if he is still alive? No, no, that'd never work. Kaa-chan said that bodies took a little bit before they started to cool off. Then, thankfully, the man shifted and rolled over, spitting a large glob of mud out. "Blegh. You really don't know how to lay off on that super-strength thing you've got going on, Hime." He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and resumed his seat on the cylindrical thing. I winced. When he called her 'Princess,' I thought the woman was going to flat-out kill him if her rigid stance was anything to go by.

Needless to say I was quite surprised that her shoulders slunk down in relief and sat down again. "I'm not Hime to you, Baka. I never will be. Ever since the three of us met up as genin, you've been a real pain."

At that the man made a sound of indignation, "I'm not a pain! Sensei is always giving the boring missions because of you and Orochimaru! We had to catch Tora at least fifty times, as chuunin! Do you know how embarrassing that is to be standing with your old genin team with Tora in your hands when you far outrank D-rank missions?! I was a total fool in front of the ladies because of you two!" He said with a righteous fervor. I nearly fell out of the tree. All the information in that one rant. Is this guy really that unobservant? "Now we're stuck on crappy border patrol and Orochimaru isn't even around! We don't even know his opinion on your hair!"

Orochimaru. Why, oh, why did it have to be Orochimaru? My mind whirred, connecting the dots of the things I'd seen so far while the two Konoha shinobi continued to talk with one another. Two people are sitting there, one is a rather perverted man, while the other is a woman of immense strength. The man said that his sensei was handing out missions, and that he was on a team with Orochimaru and the woman. Now, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even an idiot like myself can figure out that I was perched up in a tree above the Legendary Jiraiya and Senju Tsunade of the Sannin. I lowered my body onto the branch and pretended that I didn't exist, even though all I really wanted to do was run up to them and beg for an autograph. One more point for the mature mind in my unceasing struggle to gain dominance over the child body the mature mind was inhabiting.

If Tsunade and Jiraiya are here, And they say Orochimaru is with them, that makes the time period before Naruto's birth. That was relieving, I could still do things. But which war is it? I know that the Sannin were together in the second and third Great Shinobi Wars. Kaa-chan said that both the first and second wars had passed, but a lot of things had probably been going on when the two of us were in that safehouse.

Was my own mother lying to me? This made strings of uncertainty grow in my gut, but it was understandable. This world is dangerous, and not many parents would want their children to grow up around war. But some people just didn't have parents to protects them. _'Those kids back in Buffalo didn't have a choice, it was kill or be killed.'_ I thought, recalling the faces of those three kids in the rain. Don't get me wrong, I hate them. If I could go back and kill them, I would. If there is one thing that I absolutely cannot abide by, it is terrorism. Just thinking about the one terrorist in this universe, Deidara, made my blood boil. That is one of the reasons that I want to get to Konoha, one Uzumaki Naruto. He will be orphaned by the Yondaime Hokage sealing the Kyuubi into him and will grow up poor, miserable, and without training. The sealing of the Kyuubi is unavoidable, but if I could even help one person before I get killed in this dangerous world, it just might be worth it. Heck, I'd even help out Sasuke, steer him away from the path of hatred. That is, if I could.

There was one thing that was bugging me, and neither of the two ninja below me had said anything about it. Where was the third member of Team Sarutobi? Jiraiya said that he was around, so where was the man? Quietly, I scooted over to where Kaa-chan was still passed out and reached a hand around to the back of her neck, running a finger over her gills. This was a signal she thought up so that I could wake her safely, her ninja training so deeply ingrained that any method of trying to wake her up would result in me having my face full of dirt, floor, bark, or whatever happened to be in the downward direction at the time.

I really did not want to have my face planted into Jiraiya. That would be bad all around.

I retracted my hand quickly, even 'safe' responses were still iffy around ninja reflexes. Kaa-chan's eyes snapped open, instantly alert. I placed a finger over my lips and pointed down at the conversing Sannin, mouthing the words, "Konoha Border Patrol" to her. She smiled widely at me and drew me in for a hug, bringing my ear close so she could whisper to me. "Good job Hariken-kun. I'm proud of you!" I beamed, and she continued with a more serious tone. "Okay, what you have to do now is the international signal for help, do you remember that?" I nodded, three short pulses of chakra, three long, and three short again. Funny how morse code got into this universe, but I honestly didn't question it. I was still apprehensive about it, so I in turn whispered to Kaa-chan, "Are you sure? I've been listening for a little bit and they that we are in the middle of a war. I don't think the signal for help from right above them will get them to be calm. It _is_ a distress signal."

She pulled back and stroked her chin, "I still have chakra exhaustion, and will be like this for still quite a while." She gave me a sly look, "But you, I know have chakra. It is how I trained you. Remember that chakra expulsion exercise I had you do every night?" I nodded. She smiled, still with that sneaky, knowing look on her face, "Let's just say that you regenerate more quickly and have a larger capacity than most kids five years older than you have."

I closed my eyes, and moved away from my mother. After what happened to Zetsu when I discharged my chakra, I didn't want Kaa-chan to get burned as well. I made sure to control my breathing as I placed my hands in one of the handsigns that Kaa-chan had shown me, the slug. For some reason, the regular handsign, ram, didn't work very well for focusing chakra. Instead, Kaa-chan showed me a handsign that seemed to work. My palms had to be pressed together, and all of my fingers were knit together but my thumbs, index fingers and pinkie fingers. When I was first shown it, I had told Kaa-chan that it looked like the head of a slug, with my fingers looking like the eyestalks. She laughed at me, and told me it was an archaic handsign, not oftenly used because of how vulnerable it left the pinkies, and yes, it was actually called the slug. She told me that it was unusable for normal shinobi to use, saying that the ability to channel chakra using the slug sign was impossible for anyone other than an Umi no Dokuhebi, and even then the Umi no Dokuhebi didn't like to use the slug sign that often.

For some reason, I didn't have any problems doing it that way and was about to release when I hesitated. This is a really bad idea. The Sannin are some of the greatest ninja alive in the Elemental Nations right now, not counting the Immortal Kakuzu. If I were to provoke them, who knows what would happen to Kaa-chan and I? _'I've decided. I will not signal the Sannin, even if Orochimaru is not around. It's too dangerous. There has to be something else.'_ I thought. I looked at Kaa-chan sadly and shook my head, whispering to her, "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to get the two of us killed. We're in the middle of a warzone. They'll more than likely kill the two of us for wanting to go with them than not." My hands returned to the tree branch to steady my crouching position.

She looked at me with sharp eyes, "That shadow thing is still out there. You nearly died." My mother stated. I grit my teeth and glared right back at her, "I know, but you didn't let me finish. We will talk with them. It's not like we're going to cause a war by having people from two different countries talk to one another because there is a war already going."

She pursed her lips, "I don't like this, Hariken." My nose scrunched up when she said that, then I responded, "We don't have a choice. It's death, or diplomacy."

A blue eyebrow rose courtesy of my mother, "And here I was thinking that you didn't know big words like that."

"There's many things that you don't know about me, Kaa-chan. There's things you're hiding from me, too. Don't think I don't know." I sniped.

She tried to struggle into a better position to give me a nasty look, but chakra exhaustion kept her down, so she settled for berating me. "I'm not hiding anything from you Hariken. You're the only one I can trust and I don't want to lose you like I've lost everyone else. Stop being so selfish and think about the rest of us!" She whispered fiercely. I flinched, then turned my back to her. What she said hurt, but I'm firmly in the right here. Prodding the Sannin into combat is not the answer. I swung so that I was hanging by my hands from the branch and used the momentum of the fall to launch myself onto the broad trunk of the ancient tree.

 **\/**

* * *

I made my way down the tree quickly, but halfway down, I was stopped by perhaps the most unwelcome person in the entire world. So dark was the night that I wasn't able to see my shadows coalesce, but I almost freaked out when two bright yellow eyes sprung up in front of my face. A black mass covered my mouth and I could hear low, manic giggling from Zetsu. His maw widened and he leaned in, and he said, almost tenderly, "You got away once, because I let you, my most coveted. I'm not making that mistake again." His eyes bored into my own, "The three others here are nothing, you will be mine, and I will get what I deserve more than anything."

I'm so sick and tired of this guy, and the creepy way he talks just made me so angry. "I…" I growled, "...will never be anything of yours. Freak!" My jaw clenched and I darted my head forward, sinking my young teeth directly into Zetsu's face. With a savage twist of my neck, a hunk of the black material that composed Zetsu's body came free. It tasted of thick, oily grease that coated my entire mouth. I gagged but the black being forced my mouth shut. Black tendrils enveloped my limbs and torso, rendering me immobile, but in no way was I down for the count.

Zetsu laughed darkly, "No matter how many times you run, no matter how far you go… I will find you. But it doesn't matter, I have you now!" The bindings started to draw me into the large trunk of the tree Zetsu had appeared from. Through the gunk, I managed to snarl, "Never!" before I clamped my eyes closed, focusing on every last mite of energy I possessed. With a mighty push, I forced it all out, making that shroud of ethereal blue rise once more from my being.

My vision immediately blurred, the loss of chakra too much. Zetsu's black matter sizzled ferociously, and the binds dissolved. I realized too late that I was being dropped from easily hundreds of feet in the air to plummet to instant death. The good news is, the disgusting stuff that prevented me from saying anything was forced out when I made by little chakra burst. So I made use of my free voice, yelling as loud as I could.

"SANNIN! HELP ME!"

Like an explosion, the two shinobi below me sprung into action, getting into battle-ready stances. To my chagrin, a fireball was sent hurtling in my direction from none other than Jiraiya. After that, I saw something moving at me so fast it was just a blur. Before I could blink, my instincts were forced to kick in to escape a pale, delicate fist heading straight for my face. My head jerked back and instead of tearing my head off, the fist pulverized my left clavicle. An unholy cry was rent from my throat as I continued to plummet downwards. That's when Jiraiya's fireball hit me.

Or rather, it would have. A strong pair of hands wrapped themselves around my midsection and jerked my body out of the way, just in time. The roaring mass of fire splashed against the ancient plant, catching it alight like an oil-soaked rag. There was a scream where the fire had landed so I looked there and saw black tendrils fizzling out. If there was one thing that I knew, it was that Zetsu was nigh unkillable, with him being the embodiment of something intangible. The will of Uchiha Madara for example.

I was roughly reminded that I was midair with someone when said person did that horrible thing they call shunshin. A few seconds of blinding speed later the person landed on the ground with grace belying a ninja. I was about to thank the person for saving me when I was dumped onto the ground, jarring my shoulder. Weakly, I whimpered and tried to curl up but a wooden sandal shoved me back to prevent this. "Please!" I pleaded, "No! Don't do this! I'm not here to hurt you, I'm just a refugee with my Kaa-chan!"

I heard a hiss as a blade was drawn and a shadow fell over my form. This may be the end, but I refuse to cry. I shoved Young instinct down ruthlessly. _'Shinigami, here I come.'_ I thought stoically, _'I'm sorry for failing you like I did all those others and I willingly embrace my fate.'_ This was the end. I didn't even get to see Konoha. I braced for my death, but a voice snapped at the man with the blade, "Stop! Put that away, Jiraiya. He is speaking the truth."

The Gama Sannin grunted, "What proof do you have other than his word, Orochimaru? Look at him, he's wearing Kirigakure standard issue gear!"

I suddenly got an idea. If there was any chance of me surviving this, what I thought of would be it. "Kekkei Genkai!" I cried. "I have a Kekkei Genkai! Kaa-chan is in the burning tree, if you get her she'll explain everything!" I unfurled from my fetal position on the muddy ground and looked at them.

Orochimaru put a finger on his chin and Tsunade walked up behind him. With Jiraiya on the right side, Orochimaru in the middle, and Tsunade on the other side, I could see all three of the legendary Sannin in all their glory. A rather intimidating sight indeed. Tsunade and Jiraiya were wearing similar outfits, with black pants taped at the ankles, a heavy duty armored flak jacket, and long-sleeved black shirts. They each had metal forearm protectors, spanning from elbow to the backs of their hands. Adorning their foreheads was a Konoha hitae-ate, which looked strange on Tsunade's forehead, as she didn't ever wear one as Holage, but I did not dare to comment on it. The only difference in apparel between the two ninja on the side and Orochimaru was that Orochimaru had on a hoodless mantle over his armored flak jacket, and he did not have forearm protectors on.

The Snake Sannin turned to Tsunade, "Get the woman from the tree. She's about sixty feet up and has severe chakra exhaustion. Once you come back, heal the injury you inflicted on our new friend here." The blonde woman winced, but nodded, and swiftly jumped away. Next the man turned to Jiraiya, "Secure the perimeter. Your foolish Katon jutsu would have been seen for miles, even in dense forests."

The white-haired man scowled. "Who made you squad leader?"

"I'm the one with the information." Orochimaru responded smoothly, "Do a perimeter search, and you will get what you want to know." Jiraiya humphed, and turned to go away, when Orochimaru stopped him, "Oh, and by the way Jiraiya, my black hair is superior in every way to yours and Tsunade's."

At that, Jiraiya smiled and performed a shunshin, vanishing in a white cloud, leaving some leaves to drift to the grassy ground. Once the man had left, Orochimaru turned to me. The man's slit yellow eyes bore into my being and he gave a friendly smile. If anything, he looked more like a snake than I did at that moment, and that's saying something. "I apologize for my teammates. I am Orochimaru of Team Sarutobi, and you are?" I grunted, trying not to aggravate my obviously destroyed collarbone, "Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken." I replied. I was in too much pain to continue to speak with the man, so we lapsed into silence. I met his eyes, initiating a stare down. I did this often when I was Vince; I had often been told my intense, unwavering gaze was disconcerting. At the same time, I could study the way a person reacted, to analyze them. Right now, it is clearly seen that Orochimaru is just as inquisitive as I, as the deathly pale man held my gaze with far more intense curiosity than I could have ever mustered. After a split second, we both smiled at one another, and he chuckled, "Well, well. You really are an interesting one, aren't you?"

I was about to reply when the Slug Sannin returned with my mother in her arms. My gaze snapped to her and I told Tsunade to set her down gently.

She wrinkled her nose at me, "You aren't the medic here, brat. Let me take care of the injured." She ordered. "Now lay down properly so I can look at that injured shoulder."

"Which you caused, might I add." I quipped. The woman gave me a shameless smile and jabbed a finger into my broken clavicle, hard. I will deny until the day I die that the shriek I made. "Oops," Tsunade said without the faintest indication of being sorry, "Just examining the injured area. You really should be more careful, or you're going to hurt yourself even more!" I bristled indignantly, but stopped resisting against the woman's touch. _'Message received, you old crone. You are the medic.'_ Tsunade gave me a fake smile, "That's better." The woman's hands blurred in what I recognized as handsigns before they glowed green. "Jiraiya, hold him down, would you?" She ordered. I hadn't even realized the white-haired man had returned, and I started a little when his hands securely held me down. About an inch before Tsunade's hands touched my shoulder she said, "Don't worry, this is only going to hurt. A lot." My face contorted into a grimace.

"Just do it, the suspense is killing me." I said.

"You asked for it."

She pressed the glowing hands on my broken clavicle and I yelled out in pain. I became intimately aware of the location of every single bone shard as they slowly moved back into place, forming a single, uniform bone. Then Tsunade retracted her medical jutsu and sat back on her knees, looking at me curiously. "You have a… unique body structure. I won't heal any more of the tissue; I don't want to intentionally do more harm than good here. Best to leave it to heal on its own, understand?" I nodded, grunting in pain. I tried to sit up, only for Jiraiya's limbs to press down on me from where they hadn't moved. I smacked his hands and he let me sit up on my own, muttering under his breath about 'impolite kids.' Rubbing the area that was still very much in pain I said, "What gave it away? The scales?" I ignored her frown and cast my gaze to my mother who was still lying on the ground, unmoving. My heart started to beat faster, "what happened to her?!" I asked Tsunade. In place of an answer, the blonde med-nin walked over to Uroko and put a hand on her forehead. "A temporary knockout tag." Tsunade explained, peeling a thin piece of paper from my mother. "She was panicking and almost fell off of my back. I have to tell ya kid, your mother is a strong woman, even with chakra exhaustion. She'll wake up soon."

I remembered Kaa-chan's taijutsu training and grimaced, "Yeah, I experienced that firsthand. Taijutsu isn't the most gentle of arts." Tsunade laughed at my plight and ruffled my hair, "Don't worry, it only gets worse." The med-nin went over to Kaa-chan and gingerly hoisted her on a shoulder. Looking over her back at her two teammates she said, "Come on, let's set up camp for the night. It's unlikely that anything else is going to happen tonight." She looked at me next, "And our new friend can tell us about how he ended up a refugee with his mother."

I yawned and stretched my arms above my head, hearing some satisfying popping sounds. Placing my hands in the slug seal, I quickly did a search of my chakra levels, and to my great surprise, they had replenished a good deal. _'Maybe there's more to that chakra thing Kaa-chan had me do than what she is telling me.'_

Unbeknownst to me, Orochimaru had felt my inward search for chakra and rubbed his chin in thought. "Interesting..."

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 **AN: That's all for this chapter. I know I said that we were going to get to Konoha in this chapter, but I think adding any more would make the chapter unnecessarily long. In a way, we did reach Konoha… Just not the village.**

 **I have all intents to really get us to the _VILLAGE of Konoha_ , in the next chapter: "Finally! Konoha!"**

 **I'm not going to do a chapter rewrite for Mokuzai at the moment. I feel like I cheated you guys out of more content with the long span of time between updates, so that means the Mokuzai rewrite is going to be delayed. Sorry, Mokuzai fans (if there are any out there).**

 **He-Who-Lances-the-Sun**


	4. Chapter 4: Konoha? Finally!

**Chapter 4: Konoha? Finally!**

 **AN: Hi again, I'm back and it's December. You know what that means. Joyeux Noel! Like I said in my AN last chapter and in the title of this one, WE'RE GOING TO KONOHA! I'M SO EXCITED! In an answer to 'jack's (whoever that is) review, The Umi no Dokuhebi clan are NOT fish. They're sea snake people! I gave them gills to reinforce the "water origins" thing. They have snake scales (which they don't shed), fangs, pit organs, snake eyes, forked tongues that can smell, and more! Remember how Tsunade said she didn't want to heal Hariken any more than she did for fear of damaging his "unique physiology?"**

 **I think it would be cool to see how people interpreted my story. I want you guys (and girls. Don't want to** _ **offend**_ **anyone now would we?) to REVIEW, not for an ego-stroking-masculinity thing, but because I know that a writer needs support from his (her) readers (fans?) to give them determination and the desire to keep moving forward with their stories. Point out the spelling errors as well, sometimes Google Docs messes up.**

 **Okay, I want to get this show on the road and don't really feel like wasting your time. Sorry, I just felt a bit peeved that someone thought the Umi no Dokuhebi were fish people, but I understand where you're coming from. Story time!**

 **(P.S. Props to my cousin Fidelis Virtu for helping me out. He's a very adept reader and knows far more about the Naruto Universe than I do. Good on ye, Fidelis!)**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" **A** **ttacks! (Translations!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Jiraiya said through a mouthful of fresh rabbit meat. The three Sannin were sitting around a hastily constructed campfire. Kaa-chan was at my side, still unconscious, while the closest person to me that was still lucid was Tsunade. I'm alright with that, she had healed my assorted injuries other than the collarbone she destroyed, then went on to heal my mother after that. "Your father died when you were a couple days old, you apparently remember this, you've known about your chakra since your birth, have been training since you revealed it to your mother, ate nothing but poisoned food your entire life, left your little bunker a couple of days ago in order to travel to Konoha because it was the 'best choice', killed someone, spared someone, almost got killed twice by this 'dark being', and just so happened to stumble on Tsunade-hime and I when we made camp all because of directions given to you by the Oinin you spared that just so happened to be a member of your mother's genin team. After that you were hunted down by this 'dark being' again and it caused you to fall from that tree over there, making Orochimaru save you. Then Tsunade healed you, and you explained what in Kami's name is going on. And you now need some help in getting to the village?"

I shrugged, "Pretty much, yeah."

"One more question. Why don't you have a shirt?" Jiraiya asked. I wrinkled my nose, "An unfortunate accident. There was a senbon bomb and even though my scales protected me, my shirt was almost useless."

The man turned to his two companions, "What do you think about this?" He asked.

Orochimaru was in a thinking pose, his right elbow planted in his left hand and his pallid, sharp jaw being cradled in his right, "Hmm," He mused, "I see no reason why the boy would be lying to us. You know as well as I do that the Umi no Dokuhebi clan was destroyed in the Kiri Kekkei Genkai purges, so it is possible that there would be survivors in hiding. Especially considering that they are able to breathe underwater. Besides, if we take the two of them back to the village with us, Konoha gains a powerful Kekkei Genkai. There are no other recorded clans that are able to breathe underwater other than the Hoshigaki, and they were reported to have been destroyed as well."

I wisely kept my peace as he said that. I knew for a fact that there is one living Hoshigaki, and he would be making his appearance at some point in the future. At the same time, my hope began to grow. Orochimaru, being the more intelligent of the three Sannin (in my opinion) would (hopefully) hold more weight when decision-making time came about. Then again, Jiraiya saved the Ame orphans in the story, so his logic must be able to be countered by Jiraiya's sheer determination. Then the snake Sannin spoke up again, "I approve of this deal. We take the two of them back to Konoha, and we receive a strong Kekkei Genkai. Let's hear what you have to say, Tsunade."

My heart gave a funny little wobble. I was happy about this turn of events, but at the same time, it showed that the Snake Sannin has some interest in me. Almost every time, catching Orochimaru's eye ends badly. Uchiha Sasuke for example. In the end, he was all kinds of messed up. At the same time, Orochimaru could very well be the key to changing the future. If I sway him from being evil… maybe some things would turn out for the better?

Tsunade might agree with the idea of us staying with them now that Orochimaru presented evidence, but if she said no, then Jiraiya was definitely out. Why couldn't the white-haired man think with his brain, and not his eyes? Tsunade looked around at each of our faces, studying us. She must've approved of something because she shrugged, "Why not? The two can tag along, but…" She jerked a thumb at Jiraiya, "...if the kid turns out anything like him, they're both out."

' _That's it? That's your deal, woman? I'd take that deal any day!'_ I raised an eyebrow and looked at the way the Toad Sannin was freaking out at Tsunade. I gave a huff of amusement, "I don't think that is going to be an issue here, Tsunade-san."

She smiled, "Aw, how cute. Just call me Tsunade, no '-san.' I'm not one of those prickly politicians." I blushed red, but gave a small grin in return.

Jiraiya grinned, assuming command seamlessly, "Then it's decided. We're all going to head back to Konoha together. I'm always willing to help people, it does me good to give aid when I can. You two are lucky our patrol just ended a couple days ago." He laughed, "Imagine the look on Sensei's face when the three of us bring back the only remaining Umi no Dokuhebi!" His gaze became unfocused, possibly imagining some scene of grandeur with a parade. At least, that's what I imagined he was imagining.

Kaa-chan stirred slightly and all eyes were on her. I took hold of one of her hands and squeezed it gently, "Kaa-chan? Can you hear me?"

All of the sudden I found myself enveloped in a warm embrace, "Hariken!" Uroko breathed, "You're safe. I was so worried."

I smiled into her shoulder, "Of course I am! Team Sarutobi saved me. I did that chakra-flaring thing you taught me and it burned that dark thing that's been chasing us." I looked over at Tsunade, who was slightly nervous, _'No, I'm not telling Kaa-chan that one of the people that saved me also reduced my clavicle to ground beef.'_ "I fell down the tree a little bit, then Jiraiya, the white-hair guy shot a fireball at the dark guy." I pointed to the toad Sannin and he gave a little wave and a grin to Kaa-chan. "It was like 'whoosh!' 'BAM' then, 'Aaargh! I'm burning!'"

I started to get excited against my own will. "Orochimaru was the one who caught me. Did you know that you can do a midair shunshin? That's so cool!" I gushed. Okay, I may be letting out young instinct a bit, but I needed Kaa-chan to be able to trust the Sannin. Yes, I know I'm subtly manipulating her so she looks more favorably at the Sannin, but I feel like I don't have a choice. If we lose our chance to get to Konoha because of Kaa-chan's stubbornness, I would not be a happy camper. Rather, I'd be a dead camper because of Zetsu and his kidnapping, creepy ways. I drew back from my mother's embrace, smiling radiantly, "Guess what happened next! Orochimaru brought me to Tsunade and she healed where I was hurt. She's a medic and she's really nice even though she came across like a troll!" Whoops. I let instinct out a little too much there.

I froze, fully expecting some dark aura of feminine rage to descend upon my poor, feeble body, but, to my eternal surprise, I wasn't clobbered by Tsunade. Maybe she really was different? The only reasoning behind this must be that Nawaki and Dan hadn't died yet. Well, that might not be the reason, she could just be more laid back than I thought. With a smile, Tsunade reached over and tried to ruffle my hair, but Kaa-chan shied away, pulling me with her.

The blonde woman's smile dropped, and she looked at me with pain in her eyes. Sighing, she called for an early night and Jiraiya was too eager to comply. Orochimaru sighed and opted for first watch, then Jiraiya volunteered with the reasoning being that he didn't want to be awake the longest, and Tsunade went for final watch. My neck swiveled between Kaa-chan and Tsunade, _'There's nothing wrong with Tsunade, so why the sudden mistrust?'_ Quick as I could blink, the Sannin had set up tents and were ducking inside, aside from Orochimaru who sat by the fire, his chalk-white skin soaking up the light. Before Tsunade's ponytail disappeared into the tent, I caught a flash of her frowning sadly. My heart wrenched a little, she was probably missing Nawaki badly even though he was still alive. I knew that lonesome feeling quite well as Vince. In a gesture of kindness, the Sannin had left a tent space open, they only needed two anyway. When one's shift was over, they'd wake up the next person up and crash in their bed.

Kaa-chan's hand landed on my shoulder, "Come on, we have to rest so we can regain chakra and be on the move tomorrow."

I blinked owlishly at her, "What's wrong?" I asked her.

She fidgeted, "I don't like the way the white-haired one stares at me. It's like he wants to devour me, but the blonde-one and the black-haired one seem fine with it." She said, a little apprehensive. Oh just great, Jiraiya's natural _charm_ is starting already. I'm going to have to talk to either Orochimaru or Tsunade to get him to curb his… _enthusiasm_. If that shameless pervert botches this up, I think I may be so angry that I might say 'screw it!' and dig my fangs out of my mouth in order to stab him repeatedly. Kaa-chan always had said that the first bite is always the most deadly after the fangs came out.

Well, that's a bit extreme. I wouldn't want to mess up the storyline. But one could imagine my ire. I placed my hand on Kaa-chan's and squeezed it. She smiled at me reassuringly and placed a kiss on my forehead, which I childishly wiped off with a whine. She laughed gently and unsealed a pre-set up tent from one of the many scrolls she had on her. Let me say it right now, it was a very awkward process in trying to seal an unfurled tent back in the Umi no Dokuhebi safehouse. Especially considering the safehouse was so small.

Beckoning me inside the brown cloth structure with a smile, Kaa-chan held the flap open. I crawled in and unsealed a bedroll from one of my own scrolls. Jumping into it hastily, I saw Kaa-chan do the same with her own, far larger bedroll. "Good night, Kaa-chan." I said to her. Though I couldn't see it, I pretty much knew that she was smiling. "And the same to you, Hariken." She bid. I lay there for a few moments before turning on my side to face her, "These ninja are good people. You just have to get used to them."

"I will try, just for you. Good night, my little hurricane."

Outside, an amused smile grew on Orochimaru's face as the low rumbling thunder that was Jiraiya's snoring began. He shook his head and shuffled into a more comfortable position for a long night.

 **\/**

* * *

 **Morning**

The next day, all five of us were up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed early in the morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, and we were all wide awake. Well, not Jiraiya. He moved like the slugs that Tsunade told me she could summon. Slowly. Once the morning chill set in, that is, the ice-cold suiton Orochimaru had mastered for this very situation, the man was wide awake to say the least. it wasn't so bad, the man knew a good deal of Katon jutsu taught to him by the Third Hokage, so it would be simple enough to just vaporize the water.

I had awoken feeling far stronger than before. Most likely the effects of Tsunade's skilled healing ability. It was like a great fog had been lifted; a thick sap that was filling my veins was now gone. ' _Man, those iryo-ninjutsu were wonderful, I'm going to have to learn some of those!'_ Every ache and pain was gone. My ribs, my head, everything.

The Sannin were accommodating as well, which came as a slight surprise. Orochimaru had given me a kunai for emergency defense, smiling in that dangerous way only he could. I slid it in the holster without a second thought, not even looking at it. Jiraiya offered to summon a toad for me to ride on for the trip to the village, which I declined, and Tsunade walked beside me for some chitchat and good company, something sorely lacking in this life besides my mother. Come to think of it, I really didn't talk to really anybody in either of my lives. _'Well, this trip is going to be awkward.'_

I was in the center of a diamond escort formation, Jiraiya in the lead. He wanted to be the tail of the diamond, but both Kaa-chan and Tsunade vehemently protested it. Good instincts, I say. I, for sure didn't want Jiraiya staring at me for the entire journey. They had one thing in common at least. When they went to tell Jiraiya off, they had shared a smile with one another and, surprisingly, began to hit it off. After last night's tension between the two, I was happy they were getting along. Tsunade seemed to think I was such an irresistible cutie, and I spotted Jiraiya scribbling down 'chicks dig kids' in that little brown notebook of his. Oh, the trouble he'd get in if Kaa-chan or Tsunade found that book.

Anyway, Orochimaru was in the back of the formation, something that was unsettling to me, but he was better to be near than Jiraiya. The threat by the resident medic-nin still fluttering around in my head. If I knew what was good for me, I should minimize my contact with the toad Sannin.

Is it strange that I would rather have a traitor at my back than a dirty old man like Jiraiya? Should I trust them at all?

Tsunade was on my left, a position not favored by an escort group, as most people are right-handed, and therefore vulnerable to attack on the left side. Unless carrying a shield, but those were essentially useless against shinobi, who could easily punch through them like rice paper, or slice them like warm butter. Besides, this is not Europe, with their knights and such. Kaa-chan was left with the favorable spot of right flank, an easy spot to defend and retaliate from. None of us missed the obvious gesture to Kaa-chan. She and the Sannin agreed on using reverse-psychology in case our group was attacked by putting the person with more usable chakra, and therefore more power on the left. In this case, it was Tsunade. If we did get attacked by rookie missing-nin or bandits who hit from the left, they were in for a big surprise.

I was both relieved and peeved that we were traveling at a walking pace. By all logic, it was the smart way to travel by preserving energy and chakra. We could also walk for near an entire day with only occasional breaks. It doesn't mean that I'm happy that we aren't getting to Konoha any faster. I had to start changing the story as soon as possible if I wanted to make a difference. Unfortunately, all of this started with the Uchiha clan. Those guys just seemed to breed trouble. I was a little too late to do something about them. When Madara "died," he set forward an irreversible movement that could not be halted. The Uchiha will conspire against Konoha, and the Uchiha will die by the hands of one of their own. I can't possibly think of anything to change that. Even if I sway Orochimaru away from becoming evil, that's only one of many thorns in Konoha's side that is going to be removed. There's still the true snake in the grass, Danzo.

"Watch ahead." Jiraiya called, stopping the group, "We've got a felled tree across the road." I looked around the large man and indeed, there was a tree. By tree I of course mean the gigantic, mossed over trunk that could easily be hollowed out and made into a home for a tree person. What would one of those be called? The people of the trees? Yeah, right, that's ridiculous. Only an idiot without an imagination would call people that live in trees something as unoriginal as 'the people of the trees.' The toad Sannin smirked, "Show our new friends some of your vaunted strength, Tsunade. Make your grandfather proud."

Tsunade snorted, but strode forwards, cracking her knuckles. When she reached the base of the fallen tree, she placed a hand on it, as if feeling for something. Seemingly satisfied, she slowly drew her fist back. I watched with bated breath, this is one of the things I had always wanted to see! The strength of the woman that could pick up Gamabunta's sword and pin the boss summon of snakes, the mighty Manda, to the ground with it all the way up to its hilt.

Speaking of snakes, Orochimaru darted over to Tsunade, snatching her wrist in one of his deceptively strong hands. "Don't be a fool!" He snapped, "You should know by now to not listen to Jiraiya like that! He doesn't think before he opens his stupid mouth. We're in the middle of a war, and something like this is going to be a beacon to any hostile shinobi in the area." He looked at her crossly, "I thought you were smarter than that." He let go of her wrist and crossed his arms over his chest, "Don't let Jiraiya of all people get us killed."

The man in question stormed up to his pale companion, "Don't you know where we are, Orochimaru? This is one of the only routes we can use to get a supply train going into Mizu no Kuni. Konoha needs this place clear so our men and women don't die out on the field from a lack of equipment."

Orochimaru snorted, "If they can't survive on their own out in the wilderness, they're completely incompetent and don't deserve to be shinobi. I say we just leave the problem in the hands of the supply train. Otherw-"

With all casualness of someone tossing a gum wrapper in the trash, Tsunade's fist shot forward. The aged, fungus-infested tree simply exploded into a shower of rotting wood. So much was the force, that a jagged gap was torn through the trunk wide enough to fit an M1 Abrams through it. It was as loud as one firing, too. I gaped at the sheer destruction caused by a simple punch, then I turned to Kaa-chan with a face-splitting smile, sparkles probably dancing around my head, "I wanna learn _THAT!_ " I chirped.

Kaa-chan was also slack-jawed at the display, "Remind me not to get on her bad side." She murmured. Tsunade clapped the dust from her hands, also getting the two of us' attention, "I've taken the decision out of both of you idiots' hands. Now we all win. Let's go, I want to see that old monkey again."

I smiled cheekily at Kaa-chan, who allowed herself to be dragged by the hand back into position, "Aren't you glad I picked us some good people to get us to Konoha?"

"Mm-hm."

"Just think, we have only started travelling with these guys, and it's only the first morning of walking. Imagine what awesome stuff we could get to witness before we get there!"

Orochimaru was frowning disdainfully at Jiraiya, "Tsunade's right. We had best get going. Someone will have heard that. I want to get back to Konoha as quickly as possible."

 **\/**

* * *

I think for the first time in this world, I feel safe. I'm the center of three of the most powerful shinobi that I know, and my mother. Having Uroko alone offers a great deal of comfort and safety, but with the addition of the world's greatest medic and two of the strongest ninjutsu users alive, one could say that I was confident of my chances surviving the trip to Konoha. It was a little while after what I shall dub the "Tsunade tree explosion" for the rest of my life, and little conversation had passed. Understandable, considering the amount of noise that was made. I, personally think that Tsunade needed to let off some steam, for whatever reason I think I get. Listening to Jiraiya complaining is starting to get old. Maybe it was from that lewd remark the other night.

Currently, the small group was briskly making its way down a back roads section of the forest. The major highways were not safe to use, or so the Sannin had said. When I asked why, Jiraiya said to me, "See kid, the highways are all heavily defended. There's a lot of ambushes set up, so trying to take those routes and avoid all of the surprise attacks would take us twice the time to get back home than taking the back roads would." I merely nodded my head and pointed out that there might be ambushes set up on the back roads as well, to which Jiraiya just smiled and shook his head. "They don't have the numbers to do that. Remember, this is Konoha territory. Shinobi from other villages can't stay for too long before they're rooted out, so they pull out after about a week or so."

I scratched the side of my face, "So that's what you were doing around Mizu no Kuni? You were waiting for Kiri nin to show up?" The large man shrugged his shoulders, relieving some of the knots in his back before answering. "Nah, we were on patrol to look for enemies in hiding." Jiraiya said. He sighed and looked back at me over his back, letting me see his face for the first time that entire conversation. His visage was grim, "Sometimes the only way you can wage war is by slowly whittling down enemy numbers until they're forced into going into a large-scale battle. It's ugly, slow, and bloody; something I'd never want a kid as young as you to see."

I looked back in his eyes with a steely glint, "I've taken my first life already, I know war better than most others my age."

I was still staring at Jiraiya, so I didn't see Kaa-chan and Tsunade stiffen, nor did I see Orochimaru raise an eyebrow. The Toad Sannin shook his head sadly, "I feel sorry for you then. Nobody should know war until they can handle it." l looked at my feet, wanting to scream that I could handle it, that I've experienced death in a way they never could, but I couldn't let such a huge secret out. _'I'm twenty-one for goodness' sake! I've seen enough graphic things in my life as Vince to be at least used to it!'_ As soon as I thought this, I remembered the gut-wrenching feeling when I saw the dead face of Kama. I was very aware of the weight of that kunai in my pouch and the two Oinin masks strapped to my legs. No, I am not ready for war, I can barely survive a single fight.

That has to change.

My blue slit eyes flashed dangerously as they rose to meet Jiraiya's own onyx set. "Then I will train." I growled. "I will train so hard that nobody else needs to fight. I will take the sole burden of experiencing the horrors of war so that nobody else as young as I is forced to!" This sudden exclamation caused the entire procession to pause.

Kaa-chan closed her eyes and sighed, "You're just like your father." She swept a hand through her blue hair, "I had wanted to have a little more time with you as a child, but you really are your father's son."

"What do you mean by that, Kaa-chan?" I asked. Quickly, my mother cast her gaze across the three Konoha nin, "Taimu-kun was selfless. That's why he isn't with us today. He saved our lives at the cost of his own. He didn't want any of us to be hurt or even die if he could have done something to help. So on that night, he sealed the security to the safehouse and never came back, not for himself, but for us."

More quickly than I could think, Kaa-chan's face was right in front of mine, her blue eyes looking deep into mine, as if she were staring into my soul. "Is this going to be your path?" She whispered intensely, "Are you going to take the pain of hundreds, no, thousands of people so they can live in peace? Are you going to end up dying for those who don't even know you and couldn't care less? What about those who are close to you?"

I glared back, my determination an iron wall. "A million times over!"

Then she decided to drop a bombshell, "Then you're a bigger fool than I thought." She said with scorn. I was outraged, _'How dare she say that?! I want to change everything so nobody has to suffer like in how the story goes and she just dashes my dreams aside?!'_

"Then I'll show you, Kaa-chan! When we get to Konoha, I'm going to enroll in the academy, then I'll become the strongest shinobi in the village!" I said.

She smacked me across the face, sending me to the ground. Tsunade gasped and tried to intervene but Orochimaru put a hand on her arm. He smiled ferociously, entirely focused on the display going on in front of him. "Everyone goes through pain, Hariken! It's what makes us people!" Kaa-chan growled, keeping her voice low so we wouldn't attract attention from enemy ninja, "We wouldn't be who we are today if weren't for our pain. You can't take all of that away because you don't want others to feel like you do. People will suffer, Hariken. What you need to do, is become a shinobi for the purpose of protecting those you love. Because trying to take the pain away from everyone will only cause them to suffer even more in the end." I got up to kneel at her feet, not meeting her eyes. Her tone softened and she reached out to guide my head upwards, "Don't sacrifice yourself for your own sake. Stay alive with knowledge that those you love will be guaranteed to be better and stay with them to make sure of that! Don't make a stupid sacrifice when you can live with all of your loved ones in the end!" She breathed heavily, her rant over.

Humbled, yet empowered was how she left me after that. I was about to say something back, but I was cut off. I didn't even have a chance to stand up from the ground.

"Kukukuku! You say you want training, young Umi no Dokuhebi? I say that you wait until we get home to Konohagakure." Orochimaru slid in, eying us both with amusement. "I think you would make a… Competent shinobi. You just need to learn when to be passionate about what you do, and when to be a _real_ shinobi. I agree with Jiraiya when he says emotions are the strongest weapons you can have, but sometimes you need to shut them off."

He offered a hand to me, and I grasped it with a sense of foreboding. He hauled me up like I weighed no more than a feather, and we locked eyes intensely. With a confident grin, I nodded at him. Orochimaru chuckled and backed away, "Oh, I am _very_ interested in your shinobi career, young Hariken. Kukuku, you're a world-changer, as Jiraiya calls them, I can see it in your eyes!"

With renewed vigor about my journey and my path in life, I walked with my head tall and my shoulders squared while Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru with concern.

 **\/**

* * *

 **In an unknown place**

An ancient man sighed and shook his head sadly. "Yet again, the ones I send to do work fail me. I had high expectations for you, Zetsu." He placed his hands together in the 'dragon' handsign. "You leave me with no choice. I will do the work myself." The ancient man's red eyes flashed and around him sprung a blue aura. "Senju, Umi no Dokuhebi, it matters not. You will die this day."

 **\/**

* * *

We were making quick work out of the land separating the five of us from Konoha. Many miles were being chewed up beneath the clacking of sandals and crunching of moist dirt. The Sannin said we'd get there soon after travelling for three days. Most of our time was spent in silence, not because of a lack of topics to speak about, but because we just wanted to get to Konoha that badly. The most chatter was between Tsunade and Kaa-chan, with Jiraiya or Orochimaru throwing remarks in occasionally.

I was a bit worried that we were leaving an easy trail to follow. I knew that even a blind ninja could find us with such an obvious path we were making.

I turned around and started to walk backwards, "Hey, Orochimaru? Do you think we're going to be followed? It isn't easy to miss a group of five people leaving footprints all over the damp ground."

"In return for that question, I'll ask one of you. Why did you call us the 'Sannin' when you were falling from that tree? No one has ever called Team Sarutobi that."

Well, that stopped me in my tracks. When I realized he was still looking at me speculatively, I stumbled back into motion. _'This isn't good. The three of them have not been to Amegakure and earned the title of Sannin yet! Orochimaru will not forget when I called them that, and there will be even more questions after their fight with Hanzō.'_ Still walking backwards, I tripped over a protruding tree root on the ground. _'Well, crap.'_ I hit the dirt solidly. _'Well, double crap.''_

"That's why we don't walk like that, kid." Jiraiya shot over his shoulder. "I want to know about that, too. 'Sannin' isn't a title I've ever heard of."

An awkward silence descended upon the group as we all trudged along the path. There was nothing but the pattering of our feet on the dirt as my mature mind raced frantically. My young instinct a was no help at all here, it was yelling at me to run away. Only an idiot would run away from his own escort. Revealing my little dimensional-slash-time travel is out of question, that's a sure-fire way to get me killed. My only solution would be to lie, but I'm not a very dishonest person. Oh boy, this is not going to be good.

"Well, 'Sannin' means 'three ninja,' and I didn't exactly have enough time to yell out each of your names. Normally, a squad is made up of three people, right? So I just said 'Sannin' because it's shorter." I explained.

Orochimaru hummed, "Names, you say? You imply that you knew who we were beforehand."

I scratched my head, "Well, yeah. Of course I knew who the three of you were. I know about Team Sarutobi even though I've been in the Umi no Dokuhebi safehouse for my entire life." I gained a sly glint in my eyes, "The depravity of Jiraiya, the genius of Orochimaru, and the skill of Tsunade are well known."

There, I said it. Hopefully they'll believe me. Besides, I need to change the future, and in order to have to biggest impact I need to start early. Jiraiya was the first one to react, making an indignant sound, "Depravity?! Now that makes it sound so mean!"

Seeing Jiraiya buy into my excuse filled me with confidence. I raised a single eyebrow, "Is it not true? You are lacking in morals when it comes to being around women. I was there watching you talk to Tsunade, and I say that you deserved that." I glanced at the medic for a moment, "That move was really cool, by the way."

She beamed at me, "Anytime!"

Okay, so Tsunade likes me at least, and I know that Orochimaru is interested in me. I know I'm being mean to Jiraiya, but I really don't think I should be around him. He kinda comes off like one of those people mothers steer their children away from. Then again, Orochimaru isn't an angel either. What I can do right now, is try and make a bond with Tsunade so she doesn't leave Konoha after Nawaki and Dan die. Who says they have to die, anyway? That's my first priority, Orochimaru comes next. I'm banking on the fact that Jiraiya will stay loyal to his village; it's just in his character to be that way.

A thought popped into my head, and before I could stop it I said, "So, what rank are you guys anyway? I know you're all really good, but that's the thing I could never figure out."

Orochimaru pursed his lips, "You claim to know so much about Team Sarutobi, and say you don't know our standing in the village? I wonder," He said, fixing me with an intense stare. "What else do you know, Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken?"

I plastered on a grin, I need to get on Orochimaru's good side as quickly as possible. I already have Tsunade with the help of Kaa-chan, and Jiraiya would never leave Konoha. All I do is to keep Team Sarutobi in Konoha. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Orochimaru-san? I know a great deal." I said with a tiny bit of smugness. I just have to string Orochimaru along and he'd follow in hopes of figuring out my "secrets." It's not guaranteed to work, but I can try. As a matter of fact, I do not think it's going to work at all.

To my surprise, Orochimaru smiled slyly, "I think I would like to know. To answer your second question, I, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya are Jounin." Like I did earlier, Orochimaru turned around to walk backwards, looking at the obvious trail the five of us left. "Hmm, for your original question… Why don't you figure it out, Hariken? As a shinobi you should be able to figure out these matters on your own." Unlike what I did earlier, Orochimaru turned around and walked normally. "You are the one that needed rescuing after all. You should be the one to know who or what is pursuing us."

Again, the only sound was that of sandals hitting dirt. _'Should I tell them about Zetsu? Well, yes of course, but the real question is… how much?'_ I licked my lips and swallowed, formulating the words I was going to say. Vince was never one to prattle on and spew words once they came into my… _His_ mind. "Well," I said slowly, "Let me describe that dark thing that ambushed us. You all need to know what he looks like in case he attacks again." I'm not sure, but I think my blue slit eyes unfocused. "Ze-... The _thing_ , is made out of a material that I don't know what is. The closest thing I can describe it as is, is, pure… _Shadows_." Even saying the word sent shivers up my spine. I noticed the Sannin incline their heads towards me, while Kaa-chan looked down. "A single fireball could never be able to kill him. I know I'm not a ninja." I looked pointedly at Kaa-chan, "YET!" My gaze returned to nowhere in particular, "But I have a feeling that he'll be back; and he'll be angry."

Tsunade rubbed her chin, "Any more distinguishing features?"

"Yeah. His eyes are solid, glowing yellow. I think he can make them glow whenever he wants. Finally is his smile, it stretches all across his face with jagged spikes for teeth." I said.

Kaa-chan placed a hand on my bare shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, "It'll be alright, Hariken. You're safe here." She said. Her touch was warm and comforting, but it felt wrong. "Kaa-chan?" I asked, "Are there any shirts left? The other one I had got blown up by a senbon bomb."

Yes, I had been walking around bare chested for the past two days. It was unfortunate that the only clothing I had on me was literally, on me, but it was negligible. I could deal with it, I just preferred not to. Kaa-chan 'tsk'ed and shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Hariken-kun. That was the last one. The scraps of cloth that had all the senbon you collected in them aren't wearable any longer. The best those could be used for would be bandages." I nodded in agreement, best keep those close at hand in case any of us got injured. We have Tsunade now, but I don't want to take any chances. Thank Kami the pants weren't ruined, that would be really bad.

Jiraiya chuckled, "Well it's a good thing that it's the Summer! Sure Hi no Kuni can get hot, but Winter is very, very cold." He looked over at Kaa-chan, "You've been quiet Uroko-chan, can you tell us anything about Mizu no Kuni? If anything it'll help pass the time faster."

Kaa-chan looked up from her hands where she had been digging dirt away from her scales and using a small rag to make them shine. "Hm. Mizu is similar to Ame no Kuni, but there is far less rain. Instead, a perpetual fog hangs in the air. Thick blankets of white so overwhelming that on cold mornings in the Spring, you can't even see your hand in front of your face." She held a scaled hand near her face as if to demonstrate, "If you aren't careful to keep a fire going to keep things dry, the fog even goes right into your house. Luckily the safehouse had seals to keep the moisture out. If you're especially rich, you can even pay for professional sealers to mist-proof your house."

She grinned, baring her fangs, "The Umi no Dokuhebi are better than stooping so low. Our pride as shinobi would never allow us to purchase services that we could do ourselves." She said heatedly. She held her fangs out for a moment before her head dropped. "Of course, that was all before the bloodline purges. Now I imagine Kiri is filled with nothing but bloodshed." She shook her head sadly. "Can you actually believe that Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni were nice places once?"

Tsunade looked at her newest friend in concern before saying, "Let's take a break. We've been walking all day and Hariken looks dead on his feet."

I was about to protest that I was fine, but Tsunade fixed me with a look that screamed, 'just do it, I dare you,' and I backed off. After seeing her pulverize a helpless tree to mulch, I was a bit more leery around her.

 **\/**

* * *

We stopped at an old, abandoned outpost Orochimaru said was nearby. Tree-jumping to get there quickly was fun. I realize now that ninja movement is not just all danger and cloak-and-dagger stuff; but nothing could really compare to darting through the water with a chakra-enhanced body. The Sannin would have let me tree jump on my own, but Kaa-chan protested that, so I had to piggyback with Jiraiya. The man really was strong, and I had to rub the backs of my knees from where he had gripped me to prevent an untimely fall. If he hadn't, I would have dropped like a rock or strangled him with my arms around his neck. And I really didn't want that. I don't think he did either.

He let go of my legs and I hopped down off of his back. I did a quick survey of the area. There was the normal dense forest of Hi no Kuni, but if you looked carefully enough, you could see a small structure clinging to one of the ancient trees. It was expertly concealed and painted a dappled green to mimic the sunlight. _'I've got to give credit to the Leaf shinobi, they sure know how to hide in these trees.'_ Jiraiya turned to Kaa-chan, who had just landed, and I, "Alright, just make yourselves at home here while we secure the area. We'll be done quickly so we will join you at the outpost." By 'outpost,' Jiraiya must have meant that little treehouse.

I shrugged, "Okay, I'm fine with that." I said. Uroko stood next to me facing the white-haired man, "And I'm staying by my son."

Jiraiya clapped his hands together, "Alright! I'll be back soon to pick the two of you up." He gave a thumbs up, "Be safe!" With that, the man suddenly disappeared, not even with a cloud of dust to signal a shunshin.

I took out the kunai Orochimaru gave me and the one I tricked off of Kama. Taking them in either hand I couldn't help but examine them. They were actually very different from one another. The Konoha throwing knife had (almost stereo-typically) a leaf-shaped blade with cutting edges on either side. A thin leather strip wound around the hilt all the way up to the ring on the end, giving some color to the otherwise slate-grey weapon. This was more of a standard issue kunai, as it was rather basic in design. But even standard issue equipment was very versatile.

The Kiri kunai on the other hand, was made for the sole purpose of killing, nothing more. The shape of the knife was made into a slight curve, forming a shallow u-shape. With only one side of the knife sharpened, the other edge could be made more thick so that it could be more durable. The curvature of the knife combined with the wickedly sharp edge made it sickeningly perfect for slitting throats. The grip was a sturdy leather with dips and crests in it to make for a better grip, whether you are holding it in an icepick grip or hammer grip. There was some dried blood on the leather, and I rubbed the weapon weakly on my pants as if to wipe off the misdeeds it had caused.

I looked from one to another and gripped them tightly. How long would it take before this new one was stained just as much as the old one? When would I have to struggle for my life next? I slipped the two knives back in the holster on my leg.

While I was contemplating my future, Jiraiya suddenly appeared in front of Kaa-chan and I in a frenetic shunshin. I was caught utterly off guard when the large man grabbed the two of us in his long arms and used the teleportation technique again. Once again I was subjected to being jarred around like a rubber ball during an earthquake. When we arrived at wherever Jiraiya was taking us, Kaa-chan whirled around to deliver a piece of her mind to him but was cut off when his eyes widened and he yelled, "GET DOWN!"

He pushed the two of us to the ground and young instinct took over. I squeezed my eyes shut, covering my ears with both of my hands. Thank goodness I had put the kunai away. My stomach was flat against the ground with Kaa-chan laying on top of me, while Jiraiya crouched protectively over the two of us.

Then it happened. Like every particle in the air was supercharged, the entire world around us flashed. Through my hands, the terrible sound that made itself known was unlike anything else I'd ever heard. Imagine someone taking an industrial-power drill and ramming it into both sides of your head on full speed. That's what it _sounded_ like. A sound so powerful that I could feel it! The ground convulsed underneath me, and I felt specks of dirt rise into the air through my hair. It was like gravity had reversed. Then there came the heat. The pain felt like somebody was literally tearing strips of skin from my back then pressing salt onto the open flesh below.

 _'I have to do something! I will not sit here idly while others are in danger!'_

Though I couldn't hear it, a scream wrought its way out of my throat. With all the (admittedly small) might I possessed, I pushed chakra directly from my coils and out into the world around me. Chakra had always been my greatest comfort in this world, when I was all alone in the safehouse, it was all I had. I focused on that feeling and pushed it out with even more vigor. Immediately, the pain vanished like a cold bucket of water being dumped on top of me in the hot summer. All outside sources of anything that might cause me distress simply faded away until I felt like I stood alone in the eye of a storm.

New strength flooded my body, and I stood up, not hearing, not seeing, not feeling, only the sensation of chakra remained. I was surrounded by an endless field of bright yellow, and I was a single, glowing shard of blue with a barely noticeable barrier around me. I pressed my hands to one another in the slug sign, and tried to expand this small bubble around me, pushing with all my will. The resistance I met clashed against me like running into a brick wall headfirst, but I persevered. Slowly the little circle grew, and I felt the invisible force disappear around me. It only grew a couple of feet all around me, but I feel like that's all I needed. The reason why is the four other glowing lights that appeared within my small barrier.

 _'Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Kaa-chan… you're all safe… good.'_

The yellow field was slowly fading, but so was my barrier. I gave another push with my chakra to hold it up as long as I could. Luckily, the yellow dimmed to black before my small… whatever it was dropped completely.

Suddenly everything came back into focus and I dropped right onto my face. I inhaled the smell of the grass below my nose and sighed happily. _'I love the grass, it's so soft when you're sleepy.'_

"Hariken!" Somebody said. But it was too late, darkness had claimed me.

 **\/**

* * *

 **Uroko POV**

"Hariken!" I yelled. _'No, no, no, NO!'_ I thought in a panic. Quickly, I reached down and felt his neck for a pulse. Waiting here for signs of life from my only son was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. After what seemed like an eternity, Hariken's vein gave a slight twitch, and I bowed my head in relief. _'He's alive!'_

I looked around and gasped at what I saw. For acres all around was nothing but ashes still glowing white-hot. Beyond that were the formerly beautiful forests of Hi no Kuni, which were now all burnt beyond recognition. A slight breeze picked up, making fires light up all over the still-flammable ash. I looked down to see a perfect circle of grass and untouched dirt in a small radius around the small group I was in. Gingerly, I placed my arm below Hariken's knees and cradled his head into my shoulder with the other. He was completely out of it, there would be no waking him up any time soon. My hand accidentally grazed his back and I winced when it came into contact with his raw, steaming back. Burns were some of the worst injuries by far, they ranked up there with chakra exhaustion and getting poisoned.

Tsunade called out to me, behaving in a manner like I've seen medics in the crisis team back in Kiri. "Uroko, put him down over here so I can do something about those burns. Harsh as it is, he'll have to wait until we get this big idiot to stop from cooking inside of his armor." I looked over to see the blonde woman trying to peel off Jiraiya's metal flak jacket. She already had his other metal equipment all in a pile off to the side. _'He saved us…'_ I walked to my new allies with my son in my arms and carefully placed him facedown so as to expose his back to the relatively cool air. "Here, let me help you." I said. I pulled a full water canteen from a storage scroll and handed it to her. She accepted it with a thanks and told me to get working on Jiraiya's forearm guards.

The straps on the palms that held the guards to Jiraiya's hands had snapped, allowing me to slip a kunai under the thick gauntlet and pry it off of his arm easily. The smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils and I was careful not to let my tongue flick out of my mouth. I heard a clunk and saw that Tsunade had removed the offending piece or armor and was quickly doing away with the green shirt beneath. I moved onto the next forearm protector and after a quick glance, sliced the useless straps off. I tugged at the metal, but it was still stuck fast. I wrinkled my nose, _'Great,'_ I thought. I braced his arm with one hand and with the other, slowly pulled the hot metal from his arm. With a sound similar to a boot coming out of a very sticky mud hole, the thing finally came off.

The white-singed-haired man yelped and I jumped back. "Jeez! Warn a guy when you go and do that!" Jiraiya complained. "I coulda done that myself, thank you very much!" He shot a nasty glare at Tsunade who shrugged it off like it was nothing. I looked at her, "Why didn't you tell me he was still awake?" I cracked a smile, "I would have pulled much slower." Ah, shinobi humor.

She gave me an identical grin, "That's exactly why." Then she went back to business, doing a few quick handsigns. Her hands glowed and she delicately moved them around Jiraiya's back, regrowing new, pink, very tender skin. "Alright you big baby, you're fine for now. Just don't move while I work on Hariken-kun."

He laughed once, "Less important than a five-year-old." He said with a playful tone, "I see how it is, Tsunade-Hime."

She was about to retort when the ground rumbled slightly. Instantly, everyone was on guard. The rumbling ceased momentarily before a plume of dust shot from the ground. When it cleared, Orochimaru was there and had his back to us in a defensive position, looking no worse for the wear. After a few tense seconds, he finally turned to us and analyzed the situation. "Damn!" He swore, "Whoever did this was well prepared. Be on your guard for a follow-up attack." He frowned at me, "What's so special about you two that whoever did this would risk everything to kill you?"

I shook my head quickly, "I don't know, but I know who did this." I said, gesturing behind me. "That black thing that has been chasing us is just a henchman of whatever is really after us, and he wasn't very powerful at all. I overpowered him twice, and even tore an arm off. The thing we have to look out for is how stealthy he is." I swept some of my ruined hair out of my face angrily, "There's no way the henchman could have done this on his own. He's being helped, and I want to find whatever is helping him and kill it!"

Tsunade looked up from where she had been working on Hariken, "Uroko-chan, I couldn't properly regrow his scales, so until this crap is over with, he's going to have human skin on his back." She winced, "I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do right now. Once I get a little more knowledge on how your scales are structured, I can heal him back to normal."

I nodded and looked at my son, at least the smooth, scale-less skin was still blue. "Fine, if that's the best we've got, then we have to take it. I'll hold it to you that my son will have his old self back in perfect condition." I saw her look down at Hariken intently. She met my snake-eyes with determination, "That's a promise!"

"That's fine and all," Orochimaru cut in, "But we have more pressing matters at the moment." I narrowed my eyes, "What do you mean, Orochimaru?" He tugged at one of his sleeves then pointed in a direction. "What I mean is that!"

I followed his finger and saw a single, lone figure standing atop the now cherry-red ashes about one-hundred yards away. Not doing a thing, just standing there and glaring at the small circle of perfectly normal dirt. It was the Shadow thing that attacked Hariken and I twice before. But this time, it was slightly different. The Shadow being was too far away for me to make out details, but it looked like it had a cape on, and its bearing was different. It lacked a manic smile and its yellow glowing eyes were narrow. It was altogether more… prideful.

Then, as if he ruled the world, the man started walking towards us.

I went into a battle-ready stance and looked at Orochimaru, "This is the Shadow thing, all right. Be on your guard, something is different about it this time." He nodded and looked over to Tsunade, who was still taking care of Jiraiya and Hariken, "Help them as much as you can, then get into the fight. Don't forget what Sensei taught us. The old monkey would be disappointed if we don't come back." She gave a grunt of affirmation.

Small gusts of wind blew around our ankles, sending hot ash through the wind in swirls. The man devoid of all color but black and his glowing eyes continued on striding towards us. Then, as one, Orochimaru and I leapt at the Dark Man just as the sky had begun to darken. The rain had chased us all the way from Mizu no Kuni.

 **\/**

* * *

 **Council meeting chamber- Konoha**

When the ANBU member came barreling through the doors utterly out of breath and covered in blood, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew it wouldn't be good. Conversation immediately ceased, and everyone stopped to stare at this intruder. The Sandaime Hokage took his pipe out of his mouth and tapped it softly against the ashtray he had his secretary put there. In unison, the entire counsel swivelled their heads to see what the Hokage was going to do, "Speak, Tori." He said softly, inwardly dreading what the Bird-masked shinobi had to say.

The Black Ops member straightened up and performed a salute. "Hokage-sama, there has been a large explosion." Hiruzen sighed, Tori was never the most precise, "Elaborate ANBU, where, when, and why it is interrupting a war council."

"Hai! About fifteen miles to the southeast of the village the squad and I were ambushed by… something dark. I can't very well describe it because it moved so fast. I was only spared because of a hasty Kawarimi and subsequent shunshin. I am the only survivor. I was returning to the village to report this, and about thirty minutes before I arrived here, there was an explosion so large that it sucked the air from my lungs." He stopped to take a breath, "I came here as fast as I could. Something that large, if it is allowed to come close to the village, is a major threat!" Though he had a mask on, Hiruzen could tell Tori was slightly panicked. "Whatever it was… was unnatural, Hokage-sama! If you go after it, take some sealing experts!"

Hiruzen stood up from his chair and looked to his most trusted General and long-time rival for the hat, Danzo. "Assemble your men, Danzo. We have to deal with this before it comes any closer to Konoha than it already is. You and I are both coming along, we need the strongest shinobi Konoha can muster right NOW!" He turned to Tori, "You do not give orders to the Hokage, this is your one warning."

Danzo rose and performed a shunshin out of the room. Before the Sandaime followed his former old friend's example, he told the council, "Meeting dismissed. Same time next week."

 **\/**

* * *

 **Meanwhile, at the site of the Dark Man's attack.**

"Orochimaru! Behind you!" I yelled. The pale man dove out of the way just in time to avoid another Katon jutsu, which sprayed up a plume of ashes as it landed harmlessly on the ground. He landed next to me and we parried an oncoming hail of black shuriken thrown by the Dark Man with a pair of kunai. We were both panting fairly heavily from the wild game of dodge practice. Of course, the stakes for losing would be our lives, but we were more focused on not being hit by the nonstop barrage of attacks.

Orochimaru's eyes widened and he pulled me down with him, narrowly missing the spear of red-hot earth that was about to take our heads off. I pushed him away from me, "Split up!" I yelled. I charged chakra into my legs and jumped high into the air, dodging a Fuuton jutsu. "By Kami! How much chakra does this thing have?!" I landed and once more coated the bottom of my sandals with chakra, much similar to the tree-walking and water-walking exercises, but only to prevent my feet from becoming charred stumps by the end of the battle. I then whipped a specialized Kiri kunai meant for throwing.

The reason there were so many variations in equipment in Kiri was quite simply, because they had the best smiths in all of the elemental nations. Sure, Kaminari no Kuni and Tetsu no Kuni had guys that were good at working metal, but nothing was like Kiri steel. Walking into a Kirigakure weapons shop was guaranteed to make any shinobi leave with a broad smile. Sadly, I was running low on these fancy killing tools. At least three times, that stupid dark idiot tossed fire in my direction and my weapons melted as if they were made of cheese and not metal.

Orochimaru summoned a veritable army of snakes, only for each one to be dispelled in a manner of seconds by the Dark Man and his overuse of Katon Jutsu.

In the back of my mind, I knew for a fact that if something didn't happen to tip this fight in our favor, he was going to kill all of us. I saw a look in Orochimaru's eye early on in the battle, and I can only hope that whatever it is, it would work. Right now though, the white-skinned man had a snarl on his face as he leapt at the Dark Man to clash in another furious bout of taijutsu that inevitably ended in Orochimaru being thrown backwards sporting another bruise. The snake summoner jumped in close to me, and whispered in my ear. Once he was done, I tried my hand at engaging in close-quarters-combat with the Dark Man. Orochimaru grunted and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

My attempt was no better. I got in close and probed for weak spots, but the Man denied my every attempt, all the while sporting a stone cold face. Ducking in to get close, I jabbed at his ribs with three senbon between my fingers. He smacked my hand away and in the same motion, backhanded me hard across the cheek. I skipped backwards and spat some blood to the side, _'Something's got to happen or we're just going to be lining up for him to slaughter us every time.'_

When I stepped back to think up a plan, I saw the Dark Man just nod and turn to continue his walk towards Hariken and the little oasis of land that was left from his initial fire attack. Luckily he wasn't moving very fast at all, merely strolling to them. I cursed and started towards him, throwing an explosive note at his chest. Without looking, he batted it with a hand, causing it to explode harmlessly behind him. Not breaking stride, he turned his head and shot a gout of flame at me.

I leapt to the side and had to jump again the second I touched the hot red ashes because of an even larger fireball coming my way. This continued with progressively larger fireballs until I came to stop in front of the small patch of grass. While I had been rolling madly, I'd also been forming handsigns. I opened my mouth, and a jet of freezing cold water came from my mouth, **"Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Cannon Jutsu)"** The water split the inevitable incoming fireball in two pieces, causing them to fly to either side of the circle of grass and unleashing a great spray of steam. From out of the steam came the Dark Man with a fist cocked and ready to take someone's head off. I swiftly dodged under and, before he could retaliate, sliced his dark throat with a specially designed assassination knife.

Smoothly, the Dark Man landed and turned to me, putting his back to Hariken and the others. Before my very eyes, the long gash I had cut in his throat sealed up as if it were never there. For the first time, I had his full attention. In another first, the Dark Man stopped completely and said, "Does that bring you joy, girl?" His voice was nothing like the twisted voice of the other black being, but instead was cultured as like a ruler. At the same time his voice was harsh and unforgiving. "Does 'wounding' me fill you with a sense of accomplishment? You cannot kill me. You know this to be true, so why do you resist?" With a single hand, he gestured to the small grassy outcropping, "Is it them?"

I finally got a good look at him, and discovered that he in fact was not wearing a cape, but his hair fell down over his shoulders and all the way down to his feet. His face was not that of the henchman Dark Being, but one more regal, with his right bang covering an eye. The exposed eye was old, and had a glowing yellow iris. The man's nose was thin and straight, coming over a naturally frowning mouth and strong jaw. "You know why I am here, girl?" He asked. He answered his own question, "I am here because Zetsu is incompetent. I came…" The Dark Man pointed directly at Hariken, "To end Shiro-Herarudo's foul line."

I shot him a nasty glare, "What does my son have to do with anything?!" I snapped.

He fixed me with the 'look.' That one only a parent could give a disobedient child, "You would do well to be silent unless you can say something productive to the conversation." He turned to continue his walk, "It was foolish of me to even waste my time with you, but I will indulge your childlike desire for attention. The descendants of the one they call 'White-Herald' must not be allowed to live. Their genes become a threat if they are allowed to… develop in a certain way." The Dark Man said.

"Now that I have satisfied your petulant demand for answers, I'm going to kill you." He stated, as if dismissing me. He came at me so fast that he created an afterimage, but at the last second, the Dark Man jumped over me. The reason being a certain black-haired snake summoner, who had arrived with a sword outstretched in his hand. "What took you so long!" I yelled at Orochimaru. He smiled and gave me an 'I-know-something-and-you-don't' look.

The Dark Man landed behind the two of us gracefully, "Tch, the more that come to me, the more that die."

Again, he dashed forward and I saw a shadow appear over me. This time he was stopped by a veritable wall of metal that was plunged into the ground by a rusty-colored red arm. I followed the giant appendage to see a giant… Frog? He had on a opened dark blue happi vest with the kanji 'ebi' on the back. Covering his stomach and face were intricate bright red markings. The frog inhaled a lungful of smoke from the pipe in the corner of his mouth and exhaled a puff out, which was more like the size of a cloud than a puff. The summon snarled, "Jiraiya, you little punk! I was in the middle of eatin' with Ma and Pa! The least you could do is give a little warning!"

The obscenely large amphibian was being ridden than none other than Jiraiya, who had been healed up by Tsunade enough to join the battle. The large man had nothing covering his upper body, which was lobster-red from all the burns he sustained. Thankfully, he had kept his grey baggy pants and geta sandals. Jiraiya pointed at the Dark Man, "Gamabunta! You can yell at me later, we need to cool this place down!"

The large toad (apparently it was a toad) grunted to Jiraiya, "You don't order me around, brat!" but placed his hands in a toady approximation of a handsign. Gamabunta's cheeks bulged, **"Suiton: Teppodama! (Water Release: Gunshot)"** He said, aiming his jutsu directly at the Dark Man. Jiraiya added in his own attack in to increase the effectiveness, **"Fuuton: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)"**

From Gamabunta came a small pond of water with the force of a cannon, while Jiraiya's violent gust of wind widened the area of effect and made it more powerful. The Dark Man barely had a chance to blink before he was crushed beneath the jutsu. An explosion of steam burst out from the point of contact and Gamabunta pulled his enormous tanto from the ground. Raising it high, he used both hands to drive the sword down in a dangerous overhead blow.

The cloud of steam split in half from the force of the blow and the ground shook, almost throwing me to the ground. My eyes were wide when the dust cleared. No longer was there a glow to the ashes in the small, newly formed crated, but there was a split log. Jiraiya must have not seen the replacement item because he laughed, "Even though I can barely move, I can still kick this guy's butt!"

Thunder rumbled and I whirled around to where Hariken and Tsunade were supposed to be. _'Stupid shinobi and their log Kawarimi!'_ I thought as I charged over there. I pulled my final two weapons from my equipment pouch. These were specialized combat daggers made from chakra-conductive steel and I was really loathe to take them out, but the Dark Man forced my hand. I pushed my chakra into them, and a sharp, weightless stream of water trailed out of each one.

I came into the small patch of grass just as the first, fat, lazy raindrops came cascading down around me. There stood the Dark Man, his right hand lifting Tsunade in a chokehold and his right had been morphed into a long spike. I planted my feet soundly into the grass and swung my water-swords in a vicious X-shaped slash with all my strength. In an astounding feat of agility and control, the Dark Man stopped both cuts by putting the spike at the point where the metal of the blades would meet.

I smirked as I manipulated the chakra in the water to whip downwards. He dropped Tsunade and dodged out of the way, getting away with two long cuts down his body. He rolled to a stop, but his arms stayed behind on the ground.

He stood up to his full height and spoke in that condescending way of his, "I commend you for landing an ultimately useless blow to a foe that isn't even present." The two limbs made of shadows dissolved into nothing, melting into the grass. He looked down at his body in disgust, "Zetsu, for being my will personified, is weak. His only merits are his ability to not die and travelling long distances quickly. He is slow, weak, and can't take a hit."

Two new arms sprouted from the main mass that composed the Dark Man's body. By now, the rain had been battering the hot ashes enough to create a fog around the area. "If only I could do this in person. Killing them would be so much sweeter." The Dark Man mused. "I will have to settle for using this inferior body to do the job." He rushed at me with his two newly formed arms drawn back to deliver a strike.

Orochimaru, bless his scaly, snake heart, chose that time to intervene once more. He popped from the ground once more, but this time he had a deadly surprise for the Dark Man. From his mouth protruded a brown snake about as thick as a stick, and from that snake's mouth was a katana. As the Dark Man had said, the body of Zetsu was slow, and was thus impaled directly on Orochimaru's katana. There was a 'shluck' noise as the sword slid easily into his stomach and out through his back.

The Dark Man gasped, and a black liquid came from past his lips. For the first time, he showed an expression other than apathy. He was genuinely shocked. For a moment, the face morphed into the crazy visage of the being that tried to assassinate Hariken and I, then just as quickly went back to the regal ruler. The Dark Man lifted his legs and pushed himself off of the blade forcefully, also sending Orochimaru into me. The two of us went to the ground but managed to flip back into standing positions.

Orochimaru laughed as the sword descended back into his throat, "Kukukuku! Exactly as I thought! The sword of Kusanagi can cut even the connection between this beast and his master!" I had no time to be amazed that this man wielded the sword that could cut anything because the Dark Man was upon us once more.

 **"Gamadosuzan! (Toad Sword Beheading)"** From out of nowhere, Gamabunta appeared and slammed his giant sword down onto the Dark Man, neatly bisecting him. _'Sheesh, these toads aren't kidding around!'_ I looked at the man atop the summon who was striking a pose, _'The people that bring them however, not so much.'_

The two halves of the Dark Man reknit themselves together and a furious expression was on his face the entire time. "Will you people ever learn?!" He snarled. He went through seven rapid seals before any of the three of us (and one toad) could react and breathed in deeply. **"Katon: Goka Messhitsu! (Fire release: Great Fire Destruction)"**

The conflagration that issued from the Dark Man's lips was nothing short of astonishing. Gamabunta, thinking the most quickly out of all of us, snatched Orochimaru and I with his sticky tongue and jumped as high as he could, managing to merely scald his toes.

While we were midair, I screamed over to Orochimaru, "You have to kill him with your sword, or else he's going to kill us eventually!" We reached the crest of Gamabunta's jump and started to fall. The snake summoner had a deeply disturbed look on his face as he wiggled in futility, but nodded nonetheless. The giant toad lifted us to the top of his head and deposited us there with a chuckle, "I love the reactions of you little ningen. My tongue isn't _that_ bad." He said.

I looked at the fireball of unreal proportion, and noticed several small shapes darting to either side of the attack. I tugged on the other two passengers of the Bunta express and pointed to the shapes once I got their attention, "What are those down there?" Jiraiya smiled widely and bounded over to the edge of Gamabunta's head, peering at them with intent. He turned back to us with a joyous expression, "It's Sensei and some Konoha shinobi!" He pointed to a particularly large one, "I'd recognize Enma anywhere!"

Orochimaru turned to me with a slightly worried expression, "Do you need to get your eyes checked out, Uroko-san?" I grimaced and rubbed my blue orbs, "Probably. I've lived in the dark of the Umi no Dokuhebi safehouse for eight years. But we have bigger problems at the time!" I noticed the ground getting progressively closer and closer, and frowned in dread. The torrential downpour of rain looked like it was suspended in the air, not moving at all. It was rather beautiful, seeing the streams of water like that.

"Brace for impact!" The gargantuan toad below us called. Not seconds later, Gamabunta crashed to the ground, jostling all who were below and sending us atop his head to our knees at the best and Jiraiya to his face. On the ground in front of Gamabunta was the Dark Man, who was recovering from the concussive force quickly.

I, along with Orochimaru leapt off of the summon and surrounded the being of shadows. To our sides, numerous Konoha shinobi all landed on the now-cool ashes with small splashes. A man with a x-shaped scar on his chin and bandages around his right eye landed in front of me and put a kunai to my throat. Then a robed man touched down alongside a white-haired monkey wearing a sleeveless tiger-print kimono. I noticed the kanji on his hat and my eyes widened, _'The Hokage!'_

Orochimaru stood in front of the Hokage and spoke quickly to him.

He nodded, "Yamanaka mind release procedure! GO!"

All of the Konoha ninja dropped to their knees and started to write furiously on scrolls pulled from their vests. The Dark Man stood up and roared, "NO!" Thankfully our toad companion reacted quickly enough and planted him back down onto his back with a massive hand. He writhed frantically and extended right arm into a huge cutting appendage. With it he swung right at Gamabunta's neck, who got out of the way just enough so that he wasn't killed. Instead the black blade wrapped around the top of his head and scored a deep gash in the toad's face from the top of his head down to below his left eye. Blood gushed from the wound, but the Yakuza toad just pushed the Dark Man down into the earth until massive cracks appeared in the ground.

White lines blossomed from the Konoha shinobi's scrolls and raced toward the Dark Man, wrapping him in an inescapable binding. The only thing that was left uncovered was the Dark Man's head, which glared hatefully at the toad boss. The snake summoner then pulled the sword of Kusanagi out of his mouth by its handle. I winced, _'how did that thing turn around inside of him?'_ I thought.

Wasting no time, Orochimaru closed the distance and plunged the weapon deep into the Dark Man's head. He screamed an unearthly scream, and the Dark Man's face was replaced by Zetsu once more. Shadows poured from the wound, draining onto the ground like thick oil. Once the rain touched it, the shadows hissed and disappeared. After a few seconds of this, the shadows seemed to coalesce into one big oily spot on the ground and send up a terrible hiss.

 **\/**

* * *

I huffed out a breath, causing strands of my blue hair to fall into my face. "Well, at least that's done." I said to nobody in particular. The scarred man in front of me narrowed his eye and tried to plunge the weapon into my neck, but only succeeded in scratching my scales. I hopped back and flipped one of my knives in a ready position.

The Third Hokage was there in a flash. He grabbed onto the man's arm roughly and stared him in the eye with a deadly look, "Do not kill so needlessly Danzo! You are not Judge, Jury, and Executioner! I am the Hokage here." Danzo tore his arm from the man's grasp with a grunt. The Hokage turned to me and noticed the Kiri headband tied loosely on my forehead. His expression tightened and he said, "Why are you here? Speak quickly or I will kill you on the spot."

My blue eyes widened, "Kirigakure is undergoing a bloodline purge and I escaped with my son! We were running away to refuge in Konoha when we ran into your three shinobi on patrol. They agreed to take us to your village." I quickly looked over to the three members of Team Sarutobi, who looked vastly different from the first time I saw them. Orochimaru was sporting a number of nasty bruises on his face, Jiraiya was devoid of all clothing above the waist with the exception of a Konoha headband, and Tsunade looked absolutely exhausted with Hariken in her arms.

The blonde medic looked at me, "He went into shock after I tried to heal him more, so I spent all that time stabilizing him. I should have been there fighting." She looked down, "I'm sorry, Uroko-chan."

Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood forward and went right up to their sensei, "We can verify her story. Uroko-san means no harm. She is genuine." The snake summoner said. With a smile, he added, "She and her son have a valuable Kekkei Genkai as well."

The Hokage turned to me suddenly, "Is this true?" He said. I nodded slowly. He smiled sadly and extended a hand, "My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. I am surprised by this, I had thought there was an elaborate genjutsu on you and the boy. I mean no offense by my hostile demeanor, I was prepared to fight at any moments' notice at this 'genjutsu.'" I took it and we shook. Hiruzen laughed slightly, "Forgive me for being such a fool for not recognizing a genjutsu when I see one. I need more training." He let go of my scaled hand and looked at me expectantly. I fumbled for a response before saying, "Umi no Dokuhebi Uroko, former nin of Kirigakure. My son is Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken." I shook my head in exasperation, tilting my head downwards, "I just want to be safe for just a little bit in my life…"

I looked into the slate-grey eyes of the Sandaime Hokage, "I just want a safe place for my son to grow up and train." I smiled sadly at the form in Tsunade's arms, "He's very ambitious you know…"

The man in front of me reached up to my head. I stiffened, wary of what he was about to do. With a smile, he lifted the loosely tied Kiri hitai-ate from my forehead and cast it onto the ground. Now that my hair was freed, it fell over my scaled face in two bangs while the rest flowed naturally onto my shoulders.

"I must apologize for the way I and my _subordinate_ , Danzo treated you." Hiruzen said, "You must understand that the Elemental Nations are currently at war with one another." His face tightened, "I have heard reports about what happened to the Umi no Dokuhebi and some of the other clans of Kirigakure. I offer you my greatest condolences for what happened to you. I had thought there would be no survivors of the massacres, but I am glad that there is at least some in the two of you. You and your son are welcome in my village for as long as I have this hat." He tipped it over his tanned face, "Which is going to be quite the while!" He snickered at some inside joke of his.

I laughed in relief, "Thank you Hokage-sama! I was so worried that you wouldn't take us in." I took his hand and clasped it between my own, "If you need me to be, I will be a shinobi for Konoha."

He nodded, "That would be quite appreciated, Uroko-chan. I won't instate you as an official Konoha-nin until after an interrogation and a probationary period." He winced, "That came out badly. I mean that you will have to go through a question with our top interrogation specialists to make sure you aren't a spy. We _are_ ninja after all." I must have had a funny look on my face because he waved his hands in front of his face placatingly, "No, no. Not like that at all! I promise you that the Yamanaka are very gentle with what they do!" I looked at him confused and he beamed proudly, "I'm glad that knowledge of the clan hasn't spread very far. Most people know the founding clans in Konoha such as the Uchiha, the Senju, the Sarutobi, and the Hyuuga. But the Yamanaka clan are a group of mind jutsu specialists. There has not been a single technique that can pull a fast one by their mind-reading jutsu."

I relaxed, "Oh, okay. I was a bit worried that you'd have me strung up by my toes or something like that. I'll be glad to go if that menas my son is closer to safety, Hokage-sama."

He nodded and signalled the Konoha-nin to head back to the village and everyone started to walk, "Tsunade mentioned something about your son being injured?" He asked. I told him of how Hariken somehow managed to save us all. He rose an eyebrow, "A giant Katon jutsu, you say?" He took a pipe from his robes and lit it with a snap of his fingers, "Interesting. And he released all of his chakra and made some sort of… shield with it?"

"Yes. Before he made it, he got burnt terribly bad. The scales on his back were taken right off. Tsunade said that she could repair it once she understood my clan's scales more. For now, though, she made a rather makeshift layer of human skin there so his back wouldn't be exposed to the elements."

As if to prove my point, thunder cracked. Hiruzen nodded, "I see." He said. The Hokage was about to continue his little talk with me, but the rude one that he called Danzo pulled him away. He directed me to walk with his old genin team until we reached the village, and I was too happy to comply.

I didn't like the stares I was getting from all of the shinobi, so I walked next to Tsunade.

 **\/**

* * *

After two hours of walking in the sodden dirt, we reached the wooden gates of the village. On them were proudly displayed the hiragana for 'retreat' and I snickered, _'how typical for the leaf shinobi to have what pretty much means "relaxation" on the doors to their village.'_

The Hokage raised an innocent eyebrow at my behavior, "What ever do you mean by that, Uroko-chan?"

I shook my head fondly, "Nothing."

He walked ahead of the procession of shinobi and stood in front of the gates. Spreading his arms widely, he announced, "Welcome, to Konohagakure no Sato!" After he proclaimed that, the large gate doors swung out behind him, narrowly missing him by feet. And with that, the troupe went into the village.

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: I know. The ending was kinda lame, but I really wanted to finish this chapter for Christmas. Y'know, holiday cheer and season of giving, blah blah blah. I can't for the life of me write a decent fight scene, so I would like to have input from all of you readers as to how I can make a better one.**

 **The chapter was honestly getting to be a bit excessively long. I was worried that I'd have to split it into two chapters! XD Yeah, you'd all hate me for that.**

 **I really don't have anything else to say right now, except that I want REVIEWS so I can give you a more enjoyable reading experience… and that I'm rewriting Mokuzai, so don't expect another chapter any time within the month of January unless I go absolutely nuts like I did here. My goodness, two chapters within twenty-five days of one another! I literally wrote myself into getting a cold!**

 **Until we meet again.**

 **He-Who-Lances-the-Sun, The-Great-Sun-Lancer**


	5. Chapter 5: Unusual Behavior

**Chapter 5: Unusual Behavior**

 **AN: Sorry about that, guys. I accidentally wrote a little more than one chapter of Mokuzai. The real reason I'm writing this is because I hit a little bit of a writer's block. Man, I really don't like writer's block. It is unpleasant and trying to get out of it is a massive waste of time. I'd much rather jot a little note down while the idea is fresh than sit there and stare at a blank screen.**

 **My dream for this site is to become one of the popular authors, where everybody loves the stories and I get very many reviews. I just wanted to throw that out there. There's not really any reason for me to have said that, I just wanted to get it out of my system I guess.**

 ***IMPORTANT***

 **I have to bring light to one of the (probably many) mistakes that I've made. In the first chapter, Uroko said that she was thirty-four and Taimu was thirty-six years old when the wedding incident happened, but that was a mistake. I was reading the little timeline I made incorrectly.**

 **I was WAAAAY off.**

 **I based Uroko to be the same age as the Sannin, and they were born 38 years before the attack of the Nine-tails. Hariken (Which is pronounced 'Ha-ree-ken' by the way) was born 12 years before Nine-tails. Taimu and Uroko were living in the secret hideout for 3 years before they got married, and another year went by until Hariken was conceived, then there was the usual nine-month pregnancy, which for my mental closure I'm just tacking on as another year. 3+1+1+4 (Hariken's birthday was nearly approaching when the two left the secret hideout, so he turned five years old on the road, which I will address) = 9.**

 **Therefore, 38, (Uroko's age at the Nine-tails attack), minus 12, (how many years it is before canon time), minus 9, (the number of years hidden away in the secret hideout), is 17.**

 **Forgive my number-crunching, but I needed some evidence for all of you. This means that Uroko was 17 when the "wedding of death" happened, 26 when she had Hariken, and NOW IN THE STORY she is 30 years old. (This also means it's 8 years before canon)**

 ***END OF IMPORTANT***

 **Sorry about that, I needed to clear the air. Could you be so kind as to review? This chapter has been rather boring to write. Because of how boring it was, I managed to beat the true pacifist ending of Undertale from boredom. The worst part was that it was already spoiled for me and that made me sad. Genocide run is going to suck.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

"Speech."

 _'Thought.'_

 **"Attacks! (Translations!)"**

 **(I haven't done this in a while, but I don't own Naruto)**

 **\/**

* * *

 **Uroko POV**

The moment that our little procession went past the welcoming gates of the village, every single one of the seal masters disappeared to wherever they came from. The man with the bandages on his eye and the scar on his chin decided to stay with the group, sending a one-eyed glare at me. Jiraiya and Orochimaru must have noticed this because they subtly positioned themselves so that Danzo couldn't see me.

Tsunade approached the Third Hokage with my son in her arms. "Permission to take Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken to the hospital to treat his wounds?"

Hiruzen nodded once and Tsunade turned to face me, "That is, if it's alright with you."

My lips thinned, but my son needed the medical attention. "Keep him safe, Tsunade."

She gathered chakra in her legs and leapt out of view, heading a little to the right. I watched her disappear over the rooftops. Even though we just entered the gates of the village, I could already feel the stares of the people, civilian and ninja alike, on me. For the shinobi, they noticed the Hokage and only took a quick look, but the villager children openly gaped at me while the adults ushered them along.

I faced Orochimaru and he crossed his arms as our group continued further into the village, "What did you expect? It's not exactly common that _blue_ people come into the village." He had a point, but it didn't ease my discomfort of the stares.

"Yeah, and you two are pretty messed up as well. That… Thing, didn't go light on us."

"Quiet!" Danzo snapped at me. He looked to Orochimaru, "Do not interact with the Kiri spy."

If there's one thing that would stir up the citizens, that was it. I distinctly heard several gasps from the people walking around and I noticed the crowd bustling faster. I shot Danzo a nasty look, "Is it illegal to make idle conversion between the people that saved my life multiple times?"

"As one of the people that saved your life, I say you _will_ not speak until we get to the Hokage tower." He said back. I wanted to retort, but my son's life was on the line. Even if Tsunade was taking him to get treated, I have no doubt that somebody could cause an 'unfortunate accident.' Oh, how I wanted to talk back.

Thankfully the Third Hokage did it for me. He took a drag from the pipe in his hand and said, "I don't remember you making any attempt to help Uroko-chan here, Danzo. In fact, you tried to kill her the first chance you had." He looked at the grumpy bandaged man, "Now, does that seem like someone that wishes to save another?" He asked rhetorically. The Hokage let the question hang in the air as he continued on his way.

We stepped onto a bridge that crossed over a wide river inside the village. I peered into the waters and saw a distinct lack of wildlife. Jiraiya glanced over to where I was looking and completely disregarded Danzo's 'order,' "That's just the Naka, nothing interesting there except for the occasional genin practicing their water-walking. Come on, don't want to give Danzo an aneurysm, now do we?" He asked.

I quickly looked at the bandaged man to see him glaring at me distastefully. _'He really is unpleasant, isn't he?'_ I smoothed my face into a neutral slate and looked to the Hokage who was patiently waiting. Giving a sheepish smile for holding the group back, I started moving again.

We crossed the bridge in silence and I got to finally bask in the happy atmosphere of village life. _'I can definitely get used to this… Seeing Hariken run around with the kids and teaching him how to survive after he comes home from the Konoha academy.'_ In reality, I'm happy that we came to this village. Back in Kirigakure, I had heard stories about their academy. The Second Hokage had it built about ten years before I was born to train new shinobi. Even back then it was quickly becoming famous. I knew from experience that the ninja coming out of that facility are generally more well-rounded in the shinobi way of life, and thus more dangerous. A somewhat competent Kiri assassin that focused entirely on ninjutsu could be taken down by a very experienced Konoha chuunin. It's just how it is.

The group came to stop in front of a rather quaint little food stand with flaps over the seats to provide a little cover and privacy. The Hokage had us all pause as he entered into the shop, pushing a flap aside. He emerged with a bento and gave us a sheepish smile, "Forgive me, I had some business to take care of and Teuchi only holds customers' orders for so long. Even if that person is the leader of the village." Then he went back into serious mode, all exuding power and such. "The tower is not far."

Danzo stared impassively at Hiruzen's back and shook his head slightly. I felt a small grin crack my neutral face at the strongest man in the village acting so… _human._ I found myself relaxing despite being separated from Hariken.

That feeling of serenity was quickly squashed by a little girl of all things. A tiny tot wearing a very dirty, faded pink dress and wearing her grimy blonde hair in two pigtails dragged an old woman in an equally-destroyed robe over to the group and pointed directly at me, "Obaa-chan!" She chirped, "What's that?"

Before I could make up my mind whether to answer or not, the old woman snapped, "Stay away from her, Chiko!" The girl got startled by the sudden change of tone from her grandmother and hid behind her skirts. The old woman pointed a dirty gnarled finger in my face and spoke softly so that her granddaughter wouldn't hear, "Don't think that we have forgotten what _your kind_ has done to us. It may be a generation past, but some wounds can never heal."

Thus endeth my relaxed mood. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back slightly. I knew this would come up at some point, it was unavoidable. "Honored woman, I had no part in what happened to Uzushiogakure." I said.

The old woman gnashed her few teeth together and looked at the ground. When her head rose up, the wrinkled old woman's eyes were watery with resentful tears, "You and your kind," she ground out, "Are the most despicable animals to have crawled from the Shinigami's stomach." She started to shuffle forwards at me, but the Hokage gave her a look and she stopped. The woman let her tears fall, "The Uzumaki were just as much of a part of Konoha as the village itself. We had family living there! Sons, daughters, husbands!" She wailed. "How am I supposed to look into the eyes of my only granddaughter and tell her that her mother's killers have come into the village, the only safe place remaining? On behalf of all the hurting Konohagakure citizens, you should kill yourself!"

"Enough!" The Hokage barked. This startled the woman into silence, "All of Konoha knows your pain, and we are all sorrowful for the loss of Uzushiogakure as much as you are. But the Uzumaki are not destroyed. Do not forget that Uzumaki Kushina still lives."

The woman wiped her tears away and looked at the Hokage with narrowed eyes, "The girl is a demon, she cannot be Uzumaki! That is where you are wrong, Hokage-sama." She pointed at me again, "That thing's execution should be your highest honor! Vengeance would be complete!"

Surprisingly, it was Orochimaru that came to defend me. Not that it was necessarily shocking, but I'd forgotten he was even here. "You know, obaa-chan. You aren't the only one to have lost something." He said softly. This most definitely got everyone's attention as we all turned to the man. He had his arms crossed and was completely engrossed in his own thoughts, his slit amber eyes unseeing. Judging by the look on his face, there was no way he wasn't thinking about his past.

The man snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes slid to me, "The Umi no Dokuhebi clan have all been annihilated except for this woman." He said.

"And she should be killed to finish the job!" The woman snapped.

Orochimaru shook his head, "No. Is not the loss of everybody she loves enough?" He looked at the woman with pity, "Your losses and memories must be satisfied with that, because Uroko did not live nine years of being imprisoned and escape to die at her one chance of freedom."

This old woman sure was persistent, because she said, "Nothing short of death is what she deserves! I will not tolerate _two_ monsters in my village!"

"You forget your place." Danzo said, peeved at the woman's 'My village' remark. "You are not Hokage. I agree with you that the Kiri shinobi must die, but you do not have the authority to enforce that. That responsibility lies with our Sandaime." He shot Hiruzen a look, "A move that a wise ruler would make."

Hiruzen sighed deeply and turned to the woman, "Go home and care for your granddaughter. You still have your family, yet are too blinded by the hatred of others to see. Be grateful that you have not lost all you have."

That had taken the wind out of the woman's sails. She put a hand on the young girl's head. He passed her the bento in his hand, which she hesitantly accepted. "You have the Will of Fire in you." The Hokage said with a solemn smile, "I know all you want to is protect your family, your village, but you cannot be too hasty or you will leave your only reminder of what you once had all alone in this world."

She looked at Hiruzen with sad tears brimming, "I miss them so much, Hokage-sama. Why did they have to die?"

The Hokage looked at the ground, remembering comrades long lost, "It is all part of Kami's plan. We cannot do anything help but grieve for those we love. Don't ever lose hope that the next generation will bring honor to those lost."

The woman nodded and took the little girl's hand, "Come on, Chiko, Hokage-sama has given us something to eat." She said. The little girl gasped and looked incredulously at the Hokage, "No millet tonight?!" She said, astounded. The old woman laughed gently, "That's right, let's go home and enjoy what Hokage-sama has given us."

As the two went off on their way, I couldn't help a surge of guilt flow into me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Hiruzen. I closed my eyes and he said, "It's not the fault of the individual for what misdeeds the whole has done. The sting of loss may hurt, but you can always rest easy knowing that you are blameless for what happened to Uzushiogakure."

His words helped, but I still dread what the rest of the village's response to my arrival would be. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

A somber silence came up before Jiraiya's stomach roared. Everyone looked at him and he blushed slightly, "What? The five of us have been eating travel rations and whatever we manage to kill! Of course I'm going to be hungry after sitting in front of Ichiraku Ramen and not being allowed to go in! This is worse than the bogus border patrols you've been sending us on!"

"Oh, is this true? Perhaps you would enjoy more D-ranks instead? I'm sure that the Daimyo's wife would love some help with her poor little Tora." The man-that-hands-out-said-missions said.

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, "Of course he'd love to give a helping hand. I'm sure that _The Gallant Jiraiya_ wouldn't dare leave such a fair lady as the Daimyo's wife to be in such peril…"

The Hokage was about to torment his former student more when Danzo snarled. "We don't have time for this, Hiruzen! We should be at the tower and in a council meeting by now, but you have decided to give a tour to a Kiri spy!"

The Hokage's happy face disappeared, "Be silent, Danzo. All that needs to happen at the present is to have a Yamanaka go over Uroko-chan's memory, and even that can wait. I just wish to give a guest of Konoha a warm welcome to the village. And in order for me to do this, we're going to be treating her to a food unlike anything else she's had before."

Danzo glared at Hiruzen and said, "If you are too lax to do it yourself, then I will gather the council members in the village for a meeting. You fail to see how much of a threat the Umi no Dokuhebi pose!" At that, the man shunshinned away with one last glare.

Hiruzen didn't look happy at this, but allowed it. He looked at me and said, "Even if he only gathers his most staunch supporters, I will not allow you and your son to be turned away like that." He shook his head, "We are not honorless thieves that only take when it suits them. I cannot allow you, the last of your people to wander, looking for a place to call home when Konoha is more than happy to let you in. That is a promise, from me, to you."

I smiled, _'At least I've got nice people like the Hokage and his old genin team at my back.'_ I looked at the man and his students, "Don't worry, after I'm allowed to stay, there won't be anything that stops me from repaying your kindness." I said.

Jiraiya smiled, "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get some ramen!"

I quirked a smile as we swept past the flaps, "You guys really don't have to do this for me, you know. I've had ramen before in Kiri."

The chef behind the counter gasped in outrage and not seconds later a bowl of steaming noodles was placed in front of me. Some chopsticks were inserted in the bowl and the rather portly chef peered at me with unsettling intensity. Jiraiya laughed at the shocked face I was making over the man overreacting. "That's the thing," The white-haired shinobi said, "You've never had _Ichiraku_ ramen before."

 **\/**

* * *

As the four of us exited the food stand, the Hokage lit his pipe once more. After exhaling a lungful of smoke he turned to me with friendly eyes, "Ready to get this over with, Uroko-chan?" I nodded. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can get to see Hariken again, and that is one thing that is an absolute priority.

With a flourish, Hiruzen started the journey to the Hokage tower once more with the three of us in tow. Now that their stomachs were filled with some hearty ramen, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were starting to become noticeably sleepy. I was about to tease them about their eminent food comas when two masked shinobi landed in front of me. A man and a woman, though you could hardly tell. They both were fairly plain-looking, and could easily disappear in a crowd. For that reason alone, I was instantly on guard.

"Don't worry, Uroko-san, it is only a couple of ANBU. They are most likely here to escort us to the Hokage Tower." Orochimaru said.

The masked ninja on the right saluted Hiruzen and completely ignored what Orochimaru had said, "Hokage-sama, you have been summoned to a council meeting. We are to deliver you, your team, and _the spy_ ," He said with a hint of barely perceptible malice, "To the council chamber to finish the interrupted meeting and to decide the fates of the two outsiders that have been brought into the village."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, "You two are not mine, and you cannot order the Hokage. You will return to Danzo and inform him we will be there shortly, not on his time, but mine." Just as they were about to jump away, the Hokage snatched the arm of the ANBU that spoke. He leaned in and hissed, "Tell your master to reign his tongue in, or he might find it cut off!"

The man jerked his arm out of the Sandaime's grasp and shunshinned away, leaving the remaining one to lead the group. "Come." She said, beckoning the group forward.

We followed, but I didn't dare say anything. If this 'ANBU' was under Danzo's control, I didn't want her, and therefore Danzo, to know anything about me. If I knew anything about politics, it's that literally anything pertaining to you can be used against you. Eat a big juicy steak and you can be labelled as a hater of animals within the snap of a finger.

Nevertheless, I acknowledged the raised eyebrow from the Hokage with a nod. _'I'm fine Hiruzen.'_

Every stare at my back was another lead weight I had to carry. Everyone besides the children knew what the Umi no Dokuhebi had done. The closer we got to the tower and where the more wealthy citizens lived, the more obvious the displeased glances became. A group of black-haired shinobi with white and red fans on their backs had their red eyes trained on my every move.

Soon enough, a crowd of silent masked shinobi, more like wraiths than men or women, came to line the streets. I closed my eyes, grit my teeth, and angled my head downward in shame. Each of their animal masks were indifferent, but their eyes trailing me was unmistakable.

As we came upon the entrance of the Hokage Tower, I felt something arise inside of me that I haven't felt in years. Anger. Usually, I was a fairly calm person, but my fangs slid out as I bared my teeth. I was about to break free of the little escort formation and run forward. The reason? The half blind man with the scar on his chin standing in the open doors of the Hokage Tower. I knew for a fact that he'd caused all of this. Danzo had enough followers, by the look of things, that he could arrange this little show of power.

Danzo raised his chin and looked down at all of us from where he stood. "Hokage-sama. How nice of you to have arrived."

Hiruzen growled at the arrogance of the man. Without meeting the eyes of the gathered soldiers he said, "Shinobi of Konohagakure, return to your duties." When none of them budged, the Hokage sent out a minute measure of killing intent as a warning, both to the shinobi lining the streets, and also to the three of us behind him. Jiraiya looked furious and his body was trembling in anger, Orochimaru's eyes were narrowed dangerously, and I was ready to go and kill this guy, despite just getting demolished by the Dark Man earlier.

Danzo waved a hand and they all vanished. Without a word, the man turned around and entered into the building.

 **\/**

* * *

They had me seated in the center of a large enclosed chamber on a stone chair constructed from a Doton jutsu. Standing on either side of me were Jiraiya and Orochimaru, 'keeping guard' against the 'Kiri spy' for the sake of appeasing Danzo. On the far end of the room was a half-circle dais with a curved table behind which sat eighteen wooden chairs. Nine of which were occupied when the four of us initially entered, ten when the Sandaime took his seat.

In the center chair was Hiruzen, still in his Hokage robes. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

To the Hokage's left was Danzo, who was wearing a black robe with a built-in armrest which only seemed to cover his right shoulder and a white robe beneath that.

To Hiruzen's right was a man with his dark hair in a pineapple-like ponytail who had two scars on the right side of his face and a goatee. His eyes were rather dark, and he was leaning forward in his chair so he could rest his elbows on the table as well as clasp his hands in front of his face. He had on a mesh shirt under his flak jacket, and a ragged deerskin vest over the protective garment.

Next to him was a rather large man in samurai armor with flaming-red hair. Like all of the seated people, I could not see his lower half. His eyes were squinted shut, and he had large cheeks which had curved purple markings on them. On the man's massive shoulders were brown shoulder pads that connected to a large grey breastplate. Oddly, the kanji 'food' was painted on the chest armor.

The man sitting next to the giant of a man looked tiny in comparison. He seemed to have two different hairstyles at the same time, a rough, spiky mass covering the top of his head and a ponytail protruding out the back. He had a sleeveless red haori over his flak jacket and very strong, defined features. Like chips of glass, the man's blue eyes stood out from the rest of his rugged features.

At the far right end of the table, there was a tanned man wearing black goggles over his eyes. He had a dust-brown trench coat zipped all the way to the top, only exposing his nose and up. The man's brown hair was similar to what one would look like after barely dodging a raiton jutsu and his brow was creased, as if he were listening to something.

Directly next to Danzo was a man with glasses and grey hair. He wore a pristine white robe and had a stern, stony face. He stared into my eyes with a disturbing amount of intensity as he stroked the short beard on his neck.

On the man's left was a woman with her greying hair in a topknot held in place by a decorative senbon. She, like the man next to her had a severe visage. Once upon a time she may have been beautiful, but time and stress had wrinkled her face along with greying her hair.

A few chairs down was a man with with an enormous scowl, showcasing elongated canine teeth. Red markings, like blood, stood out on his face marking him as an Inuzuka. His sharp eyes were narrowed angrily and the man's shaggy mane of dark brown hair could barely be held back by the Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead. He had a worn leather trench coat on over lightweight body armor. What's unique was the dual metal kanabo strapped over his back in an 'x' shape. Not many people can effectively wield the heavy weapons, neither were they the ideal shinobi weapon as they tended to be rather… messy.

Finally, there was a thin, sickly-looking man, more skin-and-bone than man, really. He wore a loosely fitting yellow kimono with a floral design on it. When I looked at his face, I could clearly see a skull grinning back at me. The man was bald, and his skin was pulled tightly onto him. The man looked rather like a scholar that refused to die, becoming emaciated for his stubbornness. He, like the other man, was looking at me intensely with his set of jaundiced eyes.

The living skeleton of a man coughed weakly, getting everyone's attention. He looked at the Hokage, "Shall we start this once more, Hokage-sama?" His voice was just as frail as he looked, "As I remember, we were speaking about supply lines when you were pulled away for..." The man cleared his throat, "Duty." He coughed weakly once more. "Care to explain to what council is present in Konoha at the moment of what happened?"

The Hokage nodded, "Of course, Tsukuda-san. My students were returning from their border patrol mission that, no matter how much Jiraiya complains, is vital to the war effort." He said with a pointed look to his former student. Jiraiya looked defiantly at his old sensei, silently not giving any ground in his not-so-silent strike against the border patrol. "They were apparently under attack by a man made of shadows."

The man wearing the deerskin vest raised and eyebrow, but didn't comment as the Hokage continued. "When I arrived with the contingency of Konoha sealers, we surrounded this… man and I was approached by Orochimaru. He told me to immobilize the thing so he could dispatch it. I wasn't filled in with the details until later, but the thing we were fighting was actually a thrall of the real Dark Man, whatever he may be."

The angry-looking man with the glasses leaned over to the only other woman in the room and spoke quietly in her ear as everyone listened to the Hokage's recollection of the events, still staring at me. "Once the man heard of what I wanted to do, he tried to resist and attack us, but was put down by the Toad Boss summon, Gamabunta."

The Hokage gave a half-smirk, "And he was put down hard." His face sobered slightly, "But all actions have reactions. The thing somehow made a blade out of shadows and gave Gamabunta a nasty cut down the left side of his face. Thankfully, the Toad Boss is quite formidable, so he held steadfast. By that time the sealing experts activated the arrays needed to secure the thing to the ground."

Sarutobi looked at Jiraiya, "Remind me to thank your summon." Jiraiya just smiled and shook his head, "No need, I'll spare you by going out with him for some sake later."

The sickly man coughed again, causing Hiruzen to return to the topic at hand. "Ah, of course. Once the being was disabled, Orochimaru severed the thing's connection with its master using the Kusanagi." Hiruzen nodded toward his still-bruised student, who did nothing. "As well as severing the connection, Kusanagi killed the thrall."

The room was silent, digesting this information until the stern-looking man with glasses broke it, "Orochimaru-san, how indeed did you figure out that your sword could kill the man?"

The snake summoner chuckled, "Don't look at me, it was Uroko-chan landing the decisive blow to the Dark Man. As a matter of fact, she hit him multiple times before I finally intervened. His arrogance made him make a mistake." Orochimaru breathed in deeply, remembering the burnt crater we did battle in, "The other mistake he made was going after my teammate, Tsunade and Uroko's young son, Hariken."

The man with the tan trench coat looked sharply at Danzo at this, "You neglected to notify the council of the existence of a second Umi no Dokuhebi, Danzo-san." He looked at Orochimaru, "Please, continue."

Orochimaru smiled, "Of course Shibi-san. I waited until the Dark Man was going in for the kill, then I attempted to intercept him. Unfortunately, he evaded my attack. At the time, I was unaware of Kusanagi being able to cut the link between the Dark Man and his master. That was when Gamabunta came into the picture."

The snake summoner crossed his arms, "If you ask me, Jiraiya made the first smart move in his idiot life, bringing the Boss Toad into the equation." The toad summoner was about to protest, but Orochimaru cut him off before he got a single word in, "The Boss Toad and Jiraiya performed a combination suiton and fuuton jutsu in order to cool off the still blistering ashes that was the battlefield. While there was a smokescreen from the jutsu, Uroko-chan noticed that the Dark Man had performed an emergency kawarimi and went over to her son and Tsunade, who had been healing him."

"Healing?" The blond guy with multiple hairdos asked, "What happened to the boy that he needed to get healed?"

Orochimaru and Jiraiya both looked to me for more information. I closed my eyes and tried to make myself comfortable. With a sigh, I said, "My son saved us all." There were puzzled expressions across the council and the deerskin guy leaned forward, interested. I waited for them to all settle down before I continued, "As you know, there was a large Katon jutsu used against us. It was impossibly large and there would be no escaping without any number of us…" I gestured to myself and the two members of Team Sarutobi, "Getting seriously injured, possibly even dying. As it is, Jiraiya-san's armor nearly melted onto his body so Tsunade and I had to remove it."

The Inuzuka huffed then winced, rubbing his ribs, "That's nice and all, but you said your kid saved you three whelps." He said gruffly. Though he didn't just go out and say it, the 'how?' was implied. I folded my arms, waiting for anybody else to decide to speak up.

When they didn't I continued, "I don't know exactly what happened. One moment, a fiery explosion was being rained down on us, then I see Hariken, my son was standing there holding the slug handsign. The moment he did that, some kind of blue dome barrier sprung up around the five of us."

The man in the deerskin vest leaned forward, "A blue dome?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yes, the closest thing that I can compare it to is what I saw a Hyuuga do once."

The deerskin guy, the hairdo guy, and the samurai guy shared a glance, having a wordless conversation. "You're telling me," The man with two hairstyles said, "That you somehow deconstructed an orally descended Hyuuga technique that you only saw once, and then taught it to your five-year-old son who was able to replicate it _and_ be proficient enough to shield four adults from a Katon jutsu that would kill every last one of you?" He rose an eyebrow speculatively, "Forgive me, but that seems highly unlikely. Not impossible, there are prodigies in every country, but very unlikely."

I smiled fondly, "Not exactly. What my son did was entirely instinct." I remembered the fierce look on Hariken's face when he was telling me about his desire to protect everyone from their own pain. "He gets his protective instinct from his father." I closed my eyes. "He was a good man."

There was a moment of silence, each individual remembering a lost friend or family member. It was broken by the Inuzuka, who grunted out, "Who's the kid's father?"

I crossed my legs over one another and brushed my hair out of my eyes, buying myself some time. _'Should I tell them about Taimu?'_ I thought. His family wasn't very known in Kirigakure. As a matter of fact, they were a fairly new clan, as opposed to the Umi no Dokuhebi. _'If I'm going to make my life here, the people taking us in aught to know who we are.'_

"Taimu." I said, "Shiro-Herarudo Taimu is the father of my son, Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken."

The three men sitting next to one another, the Inuzuka, and the man with the trench coat nodded, not knowing the family. Interestingly, the Hokage stiffened, but I didn't comment on it. The rest of the council kept a neutral face.

The woman with the senbon in her hair hummed lightly, "How is it that a child of such a young age hailing from Mizu no Kuni can project their chakra like the Byakugan-wielding Hyuuga? Special training must be undergone for years before even the humblest of Hyuuga can project their chakra, even if it is just for the juuken." She fixed me with a stare, "You mean to imply that your child of five years is able to accomplish something that only prodigies are able to do?"

My forehead twitched, and my tongue involuntarily darted out. I tasted like wood varnish and stale air. This room must not be aired out very often. "Yes." I said simply, staring her directly in the eyes. "What do _you_ mean to imply by this? My son simply did one of the first things he learned to do with his chakra. As a matter of fact, Hariken is the one that learned how to expel his chakra like he did on his own; I didn't teach that to him."

I turned to the man with the crazy hair, "To answer your question, I did not teach Hariken, because he already knew how to do it. The only thing I did was encourage him to expel his chakra on a nightly basis so that his coils could grow. I was unaware that this exercise would lead to this barrier thing." I held my head up in defiance, "And I'm glad that he kept on doing it every night, otherwise this village would have lost three of their jounin, as well as two potential shinobi."

The man with the deerskin vest finally spoke up, instead of just sitting there eyeing me like I was some kind of enigma, "You have no idea how lucky the two of you are. Chakra expulsion is extremely dangerous."

The skeletal man in the yellow kimono opened his mouth to say something, then dissolved into a fit of coughing. When the sudden cough attack subsided, he asked with a hoarse voice, "Shikaku-san, would you please be so kind as to explain to the civilian in this council as to what you are talking about? I am but a lowly man lacking any shinobi training."

The scarred man, Shikaku, nodded, looking right at the bald man, "Of course Satoshi-san. Chakra expulsion is self-explanatory, it is a rather archaic training technique that requires a person to expel their chakra forcefully in order to expand chakra coils and bolster the rate at which chakra regenerates." His sharp gaze turned to me, and I inwardly cringed, not showing any outside emotion. "If the exercise is started too early or too late in an infant's life, it will die. Rare cases of survivors live with severely disabled coils."

I closed my eyes, knowing that I had made a huge risk in letting Hariken do chakra expulsion. Shikaku continued on, his analytical eyes boring into my remorseful expression. I made an ignorant mistake, one that I lucked out on, but the consequences of my actions could have effectively ended the Umi no Dokuhebi _and_ the Shiro-Herarudo lines. "Even rarer, the survivors will actually come out unscathed, with bigger chakra coils that refill far faster than some of the most conditioned shinobi." Shikaku shook his head, "Again, you have no idea how lucky you are."

The Hokage shifted his pipe around in his mouth before blowing out a smoke ring, "What do you recommend Nara-san?"

Shikaku looked at me with that intense gaze again and said, "Hariken will have to continue releasing his chakra coils every night until he reaches the age when his chakra pools are as large as a jounin. At that point, the coils should stabilize and they won't be in danger of rupturing, rendering Hariken disabled for the rest of his life."

The man with the glasses and the grey neckbeard looked at me and asked, "If Hariken was able to save you all with this chakra expulsion barrier, why does he need medical attention?"

"Well," I said, "He simply wasn't fast enough. By the time Hariken saved us, all of the scales on his back got stripped off from the explosion." My nose wrinkled, remembering the smell of burning flesh and Jiraiya's destroyed armguards. "As well as Jiraiya being charred." I said, gesturing towards the toad summoner's beet-red arms where the newly-grown skin was put.

"Yeah," The white-haired man said, "That fireball nearly killed us all. I'm glad Tsunade-Hime was able to stay back to heal the kid, he deserves the medical attention." He winced, "Maybe not her bedside manner, but the healing is worth it."

Hiruzen snorted and everyone stared at him. He had the decency to look sheepish and said, "Tsunade-san isn't the most… gentle of doctors. I'd much rather prefer the tender ministrations of my wife."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and Orochimaru gave a small smile at that. The Inuzuka gagged, "Ugh. This crap is so sweet it makes me want to throw up." He muttered.

Hiruzen smiled slyly, "Just wait, Hakkuru, yours is coming." The feral-looking Inuzuka scoffed and tightened his hitai-ate, keeping the huge mane of hair back. The council chuckled at his expense and Danzo scowled.

Satoshi coughed gently and smoothed out his floral kimono after seeing the look on Danzo's face. "As enjoyable as it is to poke fun at Inuzuka-san, we are still in a meeting to decide the fate of the strangers you have brought into our city, Hokage-sama."

The amusement on Hiruzen's face melted off, "Fate?" He asked, "The _fate_ of these people are already decided, Tsukuda Satoshi." The Hokage placed his palms on the table none too gently and stood up, glaring at the man. "Uroko-chan and her son Hariken are going to be shinobi of Konohagakure." He turned to Danzo, "What is it that you hold against two Kiri refugees?"

The man looked back at the Hokage, "I will not stand to have spies in our midst when you know there is something strange happening with them. Why else would they be pursued by an obviously hostile shinobi? There is a war happening Hiruzen! You're more concerned about being friendly to spies and showing them around the village than keeping our village safe!" Danzo narrowed his eye, "I'm starting to think you're working against the village more than you're trying to win this war."

The Hokage's face bunched up, "This war isn't about winning and you know it Danzo. I never wanted war in the first place. Being Hokage is about upholding the Will of Fire and passing it onto later generations. Who cares if they come from a different country? If they have the Will of Fire within them, they are welcome to stay in this village." The Hokage sat down and took his hat off, "Do you not remember what our sensei taught us? I am encouraging the village as a whole to increase its strength by adding the Umi no Dokuhebi!"

"The interests of the entire village must be held above the interests of the individual." Danzo stated calmly. "I can foresee no future where these two will benefit Konoha."

"That's because your vision of the future is one where you rule absolute!" I snapped, tired of hearing the crap spewing from this man. "You want to know my true intentions? I want to find a safe place to raise my son and train him until people like you no longer pose a threat to him! All I want for him is to be safe, but you wouldn't know anything about caring for a child, now would you?!"

Danzo was about to stand up, but I didn't let him say anything, "I would gladly die for my son and any number of people in Konoha if it means the village gets to survive longer. As a matter of fact, I would die for any one of the great shinobi villages if my son were there! I could just as easily go away from this village and another nation would receive my Kekkei Genkai." I snarled. "I hear Kumogakure is always welcoming new Kekkei Genkai carriers."

I pointed a finger at Danzo and stood up, "And when they offer a mission into Hi no Kuni, I'll have no objections to making a side-trip to pay you a visit. I'll make sure everyone knows that I've done it as well. Heck, I'd write my name in your blood if that's what it takes!"

Orochimaru placed a hand on my shoulder and roughly pushed me back down into the stone chair. "Sit down Uroko!" He hissed, "We won't let any of that happen! There's no better place for you to be currently. Yes, I know there is problems in Konoha, but the problems in all the other villages are far worse than what is going on here."

"Yeah," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms over his broad chest, "You ran away from Kiri because they were out to kill you, might I remind you."

"You don't think I know this?" I asked him. "My husband is dead because of Kirigakure! I would kill that bastard Yagura, too! Everyone I've ever loved is dead!" I shouted.

The Hokage turned to me with a stony face, "Were you not there when that old woman was begging me for your death? You still have your son!"

"I don't know that anymore!" I shouted, putting my face into my hands. My shoulders shook softly and the tears finally fell. The pain of losing everything crashing down on me once more. "I just want my son to live!" I sobbed.

The council looked on impassively while I had my cry.

After a short period of time, the man with the neckbeard and the woman with her hair in a senbon stood up. The man cleared his throat, "I, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu call for a mind-reading by Yamanaka Inoichi in order to prove the intentions of Umi no Dokuhebi Uroko to the council. Any objections?"

Nobody said anything, though Danzo looked like he just swallowed a lemon. When no objections were raised, Homura gestured the man with the dual hairstyles to approach me.

I shakily took in a deep breath and wiped my eyes. Orochimaru dragged Jiraiya away from me and the toad summoner gave me a small smile.

The Yamanaka knelt in front of me and placed both of his hands on the top of my head. He closed his eyes and said, **"Shindenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Transmission Jutsu)"**

Then I felt _something_ _else_ in my head, such a foreign feeling that I couldn't help but recoil. "No, no, no." The man said gently, so that nobody could hear him as well as calm me down, "I know it feels weird, but you can't resist unless you want Danzo to win." His eyes opened and looked at me with hard eyes, "Unless, of course, you want him to."

I knew I was being played, but I was so adverse to Danzo having a part in my life that I forced myself to endure the strange sensation.

All of the sudden, memories rushed to the forefront of my consciousness.

 **\/**

* * *

 _It was a week before I gave birth, and Taimu was giving me that sly smile as I tried to sit upright, hardly managing to do so. I snarled at him, baring my fangs and flashing my strikingly blue slit eyes at that horrible man that made me this way. At my reaction, he simply gave a chuckle and held me close._

 _At his embrace, I completely forgot what I was sitting up for and relaxed into his arms. He laughed again and rubbed my engorged stomach, "See, little hurricane? Your crazy mother can be subdued. She knows nothing bad is going to happen to us."_

 _I smacked the back of his head and mumbled at him to shut up. He smiled as he drew back, feeling Hariken kick. "See Uroko-chan? He agrees with me. Everything is going to be okay."_

" _No," I said with a smile, "SHE agrees with me that you should shut up."_

 _He laughed and laid down on the bed, "Regardless, I'm going to shut up and you'll be fine."_

The scene shifted to the hospital, me holding a new baby boy.

" _I told you." Murmured Taimu. "You're going to have to work harder in order to prove me wrong. I always knew it'd be a boy."_

 _I gave Taimu a faux nasty glare, and leaned over to speak to Hariken. "Don't worry, it doesn't matter that you're not a girl, we would've loved you." The baby opened his eyes and I smiled up at Taimu, "He has his Kaa-chan's eyes." I turned young Hariken to face Taimu. "See, Hariken? This is your unbearable Tou-san."_

 _Taimu poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and crossed his light red eyes, making a funny face. Hariken closed his eyes and turned his head away, falling asleep. I rocked him gently and gave a smile to Taimu, "You made him fall asleep."_

" _He just can't take a joke." My husband reaffirmed. Taimu mock-sighed, "Ugh! He's going to be as serious as his mother! I've failed my legacy as a father already!"_

 _I shook my head fondly, "Oh, hush. You'll be a great father."_

I felt an emotion that wasn't mine. There was shock and an image of a gigantic mountain with three faces on it popped into view before it vanished. I was confused but another memory came up before I could dwell on the feeling.

 _I watched my son on the floor as he looked at the map of the Elemental Nations again, remembering how Hariken was tracing lines from the safehouse to Konoha. I sighed and lowered my head. It was so obvious as to what he was planning. "Hariken, you're right, we need to get out of this place."_

 _I watched him spin around to me with an incredulous expression, his emotions displayed all over his newly-scaled face. He probably thought I was a mind-reader. I smiled inwardly then shrugged my shoulders, "I'm a ninja Hariken-kun. It's what we do."_

 _Hariken sighed and rubbed his forehead, "What are we gonna do, Kaa-chan? I'm not stupid enough to think that that bastard Mizukage didn't leave some Hunter-nin in case we escape." He said. I watched my son get up and pace around the small room only to quite obviously trip on the hatch and go into some impromptu pushups. I raised an eyebrow when he stood back up as if nothing happened._

 _He crossed his arms, "I planned that entire thing out, you just don't want to admit how much you were in awe of my smoothness."_

" _Uh-huh."_

 _Hariken stooped down and opened the hatch that I went down nearly every day to get food and looked at me. While he explained his plan I went over to a chair and sat down, patiently waiting him out. What he didn't know was that I was thinking the same thing he was._

" _...What do you think, Kaa-chan? We can do this!"_

 _I rubbed my chin and hummed, thinking about his plan. "Your plan is a good one Hariken-kun, but you didn't factor in that Konohagakure might not let a missing-nin with a Kiri flak jacket into their village."_

" _That doesn't matter, when we get to Konoha, we can just stay outside the walls or heck, even just stay in the surrounding forests! The main thing is that we get some resemblance of safety."_

 _I didn't want to tell him, but I knew for a fact that Konoha would never allow two strangers to live in their forests while one is wearing a Kiri hitai-ate and full battle gear, regardless of what the other has._

" _I thought about this a lot. Konoha is the only place we can go. Kiri is out of the question, with the bloodline murders. Kumo would definitely accept a new bloodline, but to get there we'd need to go through the whirlpools of Uzushio. We can't go to Iwa because they just hate everybody and are way too far away, and Suna is in the middle of the desert. We'd be lucky if we even survived getting to Suna, not to mention if they don't accept us." He shook his head. "We can't go anywhere but Konoha, Kaa-chan."_

 _I saw an almost giddy gleam in his eye and I wondered where it came from. I sighed, "I know we really don't have choice at all. It's either die here or go and live somewhere else." The sad part was, it's true. "I monitored the safety seals on the walls and those are deteriorating rapidly too. They wouldn't last another week." 'Not with you pounding on the walls as you wall run.' I added mentally._

 _I gave him some storage scrolls and gave him a quick reminder on how to use them, and when he nodded that he remembered, I stood up. "Good, pack whatever you feel you need for a long journey. We're going to Konoha."_

I felt the alien consciousness draw back with a sense of acceptance. I felt that I still needed to show him one more thing, but I didn't know exactly what. The thing, Inoichi, I assumed came back with a curious probe. The memory of Hariken speaking up against Jiraiya and then my subtle encouragement for him to get stronger came forward from my mind.

 _Jiraiya just made a remark about how he felt sorry for children soldiers and my son went rigid. Slowly he looked up at the man with bared teeth. "Then I will train!" He growled out, "I will train so hard that nobody else needs to fight. I will take the sole burden of experiencing the horrors of war so that nobody as young as I is forced to!"_

 _The procession stopped and I closed my eyes. The sheer determination in his voice reminded me so much of Taimu, when he wasn't being a complete goofball, that is. I almost didn't realize that I said anything when I thought he was just like his father. Out loud, I said, "I had wanted to have a little more time with you as a child, but you really are your father's son."_

" _What do you mean by that, Kaa-chan?"_

 _I looked at the three Konoha nin and brushed some hair out of my eyes, "Taimu-kun was selfless. That's why he isn't with us today. He saved our lives at the cost of his own. He didn't want any of us to be hurt or even die if he could have done something to help. So on that night, he sealed the security to the safehouse and never came back, not for himself, but for us."_

 _I crouched in front of him, "Is this going to be your path? Are you going to take the pain of hundreds, no, thousands of people so that they can live in peace? Are you going to end up dying for those who don't even know you and couldn't care less?" I said, thinking about what the Umi no Dokuhebi did at Uzushiogakure. "What about those who are close to you?"_

 _He glared at me with steel behind those blue slit eyes he had, "A million times over!" He all but shouted._

 _It hurt me to this, but he needed a push to become stronger, stronger even than Yagura. "Then you're a bigger fool than I thought."_

" _Then I'll show you, Kaa-chan! When we get to Konoha, I'm going to enroll in the academy, then I'll become the strongest person in the village!" He shouted._

The other consciousness seemed to nod, then I felt another curious touch on my mind which I didn't understand whatsoever. When my confusion must have been evident I actually heard Inoichi's voice, "Is there anything else that you want to show me?"

' _Oh, that's what he wanted…'_

Just for good measure, I thought about the memory of Hariken producing the shield with chakra expulsion.

 _Hariken pushed me off of him, somehow, with his eyes knit shut and an expression of agony on his face as the scorching heat of the surprise attack literally stripped his back of scales. A blue translucent film of chakra arose around his body, and his face slackened slightly, in obvious relief. Then his face twisted into one of somebody lifting a burden too large and he screamed. His voice was snatched away by the ringing in our ears, but the chakra barrier expanded slightly._

 _The barrier quivered slightly, appearing patchy in places, then it sprung out to engulf the four of us. Jiraiya was on the ground smoking, Tsunade was covering her eyes, Orochimaru was looking at my son with something akin to glee, and I was staring at Hariken in shock._

 _The flames outside the barrier died down, and the barrier broke open with a large crack, like glass shattering. His eyes snapped open, darting around wildly, then they rolled back up into his head. My son, my Hariken dropped bonelessly to the still grassy circle of land._

 _I screamed._

The memory ended, then Inoichi departed from my mind.

 **\/**

* * *

I blinked rapidly, having done nothing but stared into Inoichi's eyes for however long he was kneeling there. I struggled to find my voice as he removed his hands from my head and got up. "H...how…? What… what was that?" I asked.

Inoichi was still staring intently into my eyes, as if entranced. I saw Inoichi rub his knee and shake his head vigorously. "I have a girlfriend..." I heard him mutter. I couldn't help but let a laugh out at that. He realized that he'd said that aloud and blushed a brilliant crimson. "Nothing." He meekly.

The Inuzuka, Hakkuru, heard it with his more sensitive ears and clutched his probably broken ribs as he burst out into laughter. The Yamanaka glared at him in embarrassment, the blush reaching all the way to his ears, "Shut up you stupid mutt, I don't see _you_ with one!"

The large man in the samurai armor smirked, "That's 'cause Hakkuru isn't a pretty boy like you are Inoichi. It's a wonder you fight at all with your manicure!"

The Yamanaka subtly glanced at his nails and turned to the man in horror, "Chouza! You said that was our secret!"

Goggles guy, uh, Shibi? Yeah, Shibi, seemingly vibrated in amusement, creating a low buzzing sound. "With nails like yours," He started, "There's not any shinobi in the village that _doesn't_ know you go to the parlor every week."

Inoichi looked to Hiruzen pleadingly, "Hokage-sama!" He whined, "They're being mean to me!"

The Hokage's shoulders were shaking, so he wasn't offering any help. Shikaku just sighed wearily and rested his face in a hand. "Guys…" He said. "You're all so troublesome." Even though he seemed to be annoyed, I saw the smile on his face. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

Danzo slammed a hand on the desk, cracking it slightly, effectively ending all mirth. "Yamanaka-san. Stop being a child! What did you see in her memories?" The bandaged man ordered.

Inoichi cleared his throat and straightened up, "Of course, Shimura-san." He said folding his hands behind his back. "It seems you were entirely wrong. This woman is not a spy in any way. The only thing she seeks in Konoha is refuge from the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura and a safe place for her to raise her son." The man smiled faintly, "The two of them are innocent of any charges you can put against them, Danzo-san."

Danzo looked eerily calm for a moment, that was something he didn't expect.

He turned to me, "Your son was right. Mizu isn't an option, Kumo would gladly accept you, but there's some freaky stuff going on there right now, Iwa closed its borders and would probably kill you on sight, and neither of you would survive getting to Suna. Konoha was- and still is- your best choice. You have a sharp kid, there."

Danzo's face twisted into one of loathing, "What about the Uzushiogakure massacre? The Umi no Dokuhebi led the charge with all the other Shinobi villages to slaughter every last Uzumaki."

Hiruzen gave a look to Danzo, and a small smile to me as he echoed his words from earlier, "It's not the fault of the individual for what misdeeds the whole has done." Jeez, if looks could kill. "I seem to remember that you were present for this little conversation."

The bandaged man stood up, "I will not allow them to live in this village." He declared.

There was a weak cough and we all looked at Satoshi. He stared Danzo down, but the man didn't give an inch. "I have my duties as Chief of the Merchant's Guild here I need to attend to. Without my aid, our village would starve." The emaciated man got a look of disgust, "I have no desire to sit here in the council listening to the squabbles of shinobi who can't get their way when I have a village to feed."

Hiruzen smiled, there was a reason he appointed the skeletal man. Tsukuda Satoshi raised his chin, "I propose a vote so that we can allow these two refugees into our village. After that, I am leaving." He said with only a slight rasp to his voice. Satoshi coughed to clear it and eyed the gathered council, "Any opposition except from Councillor of War Shimura Danzo?"

The doors opened up to reveal a man wearing attire similar to many leaf jounin, but on his left shoulder was a short white sleeve with the symbol of Uzushiogakure on it. He had a tanto on his back, which was slightly covered by his long silver hair. The man had dark rings below his eyes and a smile on his kind-looking face. He scratched the back of his head, "I'm not late, am I?" he asked.

Hiruzen smiled, "Not at all, Sakumo-san. You arrived just in time to vote. How did your mission go?"

My eyes widened and I sucked a breath in. Hatake Sakumo?

The man looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Voting on what?" He asked. Sakumo looked at the Hokage, "I shouldn't get the credit when I was only just a part of the team, but the mission is complete."

"Good." Hiruzen said simply.

Danzo glared at the Hokage and said to Sakumo, "I'm afraid you will not be able to vote on this issue, Hatake-san. You were not present for the majority of the meeting."

Satoshi sighed impatiently, wanting to return to his duties. "The vote is on whether the two Umi no Dokuhebi should be allowed to stay in the village. What you all do afterwards does not concern me, I just want to be off of this awful chair and back in my office."

The legendary ninja smiled, "Hello to you, too, Tsukuda-san. Always nice to see you." The Head of Economics simply grunted. Sakumo turned to me and said, "I was wondering why I saw Tsunade working on a child. It was your son, wasn't it?" At my hopeful look he just smiled, "Don't worry, Tsunade asked me to tell the blue woman her son was 'fine and had all of his scales back.' and 'you'll never notice the difference.'"

He chuckled, "And here I thought that when she said 'blue woman' she meant a sad person." He turned to Danzo, "By the way, Tsunade told me everything that went on with these two. I must throw my support in with the two of them staying." He smiled, "They seem like good people."

Inoichi nodded, "Yeah, they are. The kid has, dare I say it, the Will of Fire. Uroko-chan here is a concerned mother that saved the lives of Team Sarutobi and helped in killing an international threat."

Hiruzen smiled broadly, happy to hear about Hariken's survival and glad that he has the Will of Fire. "Well, then." He announced, "Shall we vote? With Sakumo there present there is eleven, whereas before there was an even number of voters."

Danzo gave a nasty look to Hiruzen, "I refuse to allow Sakumo to participate."

"Oh for Kami's sake, would you just shut up already?" Said an irate voice from a few chairs to the left of Danzo. Hakkuru scratched angrily at the bandages around his midsection before saying, "I don't even want to be here in this stupid meeting when I could be out on the field fighting!" He growled and winced as his ribs were agitated by the scratching. "Life-threatening trauma, severe breakage, my ass!" The angry Inuzuka glared at Danzo, "If you can't get that stick out of your ass and let Sakumo vote, then just leave me out of it."

Danzo stood steadfast in his declaration.

Hakkuru looked at Hiruzen, "Leave me out then."

Hiruzen looked at the assembled council as if asking for any more interruptions.

There were nods all across the council to continue and the Hokage stood up, "I vote in support of the Umi no Dokuhebi staying." I smiled at the man, he would make good on his promise to keep us in Konoha.

Danzo rose, "I vote in opposition." He said in a clipped tone. My mouth twitched into a sneer before I smoothed my expression. _'No surprises there.'_

"I vote to support the Umi no Dokuhebi after seeing that their intentions are pure." Inoichi said.

Shikaku looked like the last thing he wanted to do was stand up, but he dragged himself upright, "I vote to support the Umi no Dokuhebi." He said tiredly. For a second it looked like he was going to say more, but the man just sighed and leaned on the table heavily, putting as much weight off of his feet as possible. I had hoped he would help us, considering the focus he had on the chakra expulsion.

Chouza eyes met Shikaku's, then he stood up, "If Ino and Shika support, then then you will find no argument with the Akimichi clan. I support the Umi no Dokuhebi." The loyalty of the man towards his peers made my heart warm.

"The Aburame support only if the Umi no Dokuhebi are under supervision." Shibi said. "I cannot give my full trust to them due to rather… lacking evidence, but I am content in allowing them to stay only if they are being watched." I'd heard that members of the Aburame clan were analytical and often didn't make decisions unless they had strong proof, and it seems like the current clan head was no different.

' _That's five!'_ I thought. My entire being relaxed. With the majority vote, Hariken and I were guaranteed to be allowed to legally stay in Konohagakure.

The Hokage nodded, "The council has voted to keep the Umi no Dokuhebi in the village." He looked pointedly at Satoshi, "Now that the main issue of the council has been dealt with, any members of the council that wish to leave may do so while we continue the meeting."

Satoshi got up with a grace that belied his fragile state and bowed to the Hokage before exiting the room. Hakkuru also got to his feet with a muttered curse about his ribs and left quietly. Orochimaru dragged Jiraiya away who only gave a small protest. The only others to get up were Inoichi and Chouza, who both offered excuses about having to run their businesses.

When the doors to the council chamber closed, Danzo addressed the seven remaining people, "What are we going to do with them now that you've decided to let them in the village?" He said with a frown.

Shikaku cracked his neck and collapsed back into his chair with a sigh. He leaned the furniture back so it was only on two legs and cupped the back of head with his hands like one would if they were cloud-watching. "Well," He said, "Here's what I've been thinking."

 **\/**

* * *

 **Hariken, three days later**

I woke up with that annoying filmy liquid on my eyes. The kind that, no matter how hard you blink, you can't get out. _'So that's how my day's gonna go.'_ I grumped. Eventually I got tired of blinking and just rubbed my eyes to get rid of it.

When my hands left my face, I saw that I was in white room. Glaringly white with the sharp smell of rubbing alcohol. I could feel that I was laying down and there was bright sunshine streaming in from an open window above my head. I could hear happy bustling through the window and birds merrily chirping. I heard some people chatting amiably through the open metal door of the room.

I wanted to kill every last one of them for waking me up.

I groaned and rolled over, only to come face-to-face with the bladed edge of a kunai. I reached a scaled hand to the knife and tried to push it out of my face, but the small hand holding it didn't budge. In response I just groaned again and flipped myself the other way, trying to face the darkest side of the room so I could go back to sleep.

Where else would I be but in a hospital? With all the falsely-cheery-yet-creepy atmosphere. Well, either a hospital or a mental institute. I heard soft pattering of sandals on the (probably tile) floor moving away from me and I sighed happily. _'Maybe that person will shut the door on their way out.'_

Sadly, the person returned after a minute or two, just when I could feel sleep creeping into my bones. A terrible, horrible light shone right into my eyelids, moving back-and-forth just fast enough so that it irked me to no end. Oh, the cruelty of this terrible, terrible world.

I growled lightly when the flashing didn't stop and I heard soft laughter. I scowled before turning onto my back and sitting up slowly, letting my head and arms dangle limply. My head lolled into its normal position and I opened my eyes, glaring as hatefully as I could.

"Good morning, sunshine!" A cheerful voice said loudly. This person was holding a kunai in front of my head and had it angled in the sun so that the light reflected right into my eyes. I snarled and tried to grab at the knife, but the person was too fast and danced out of my reach. "Well," The person, a young boy by the sound of it, said, "You're a happy one, aren't you?"

Now that the light was out of my eyes I could see the kid, and I almost fell out of the bed. In front of me was a young Kakashi. He had on a full blue bodysuit with his usual facemask and a tuft of his silver hair was poking through his Konoha hitai-ate. He had a leather harness on his upper body and and plated armguards. Like most Konoha shinobi, Kakashi had tape on his ankles over his puffy-looking shinobi pants and blue open-toe sandals

The most alarming thing though, was the normal-looking left eye in his socket.

It was then that I realized what time I was really in. The Second Shinobi World War was happening right now as I sat there, doing absolutely nothing.

The two of us were just staring at each other, so I said, "So, what happened?"

He shrugged and flipped the kunai so the grip was facing me, "I dunno. Hokage-sama just told me to keep watch over you in case someone decided to attack you. This is yours by the way."

I took the knife with a nod and froze. Something was missing. Something I wouldn't be caught dead without. I patted my head to find out that somebody had shaved my head completely bald. Kakashi snickered. "Muh… my hair…" I stammered.

"Yup," The silver-haired kid said, "When Tsunade-san brought you in she said that it needed to be shaved off because it was nearly burnt off."

My hair was forgotten and I looked at Kakashi with no small amount of intensity. "Tsunade?" I asked. He nodded. "Was there anybody with her?"

"Yeah, Hokage-sama's old genin team and a bunch of seal specialists came through the main gates surrounding a woman in a Kiri jounin outfit. Tsunade-san was carrying you and then she jumped off over to where we're at now."

I got up and swung myself off the bed, nearly falling over when my feet hit the cold floor, but Kakashi grabbed one of my arms to steady me. "Where's that woman?" I asked.

He smiled, his eyes curving into happy arcs, "Come on, Tsunade and Hokage-sama asked me to bring you to her once you woke up." He said. I looked down at myself and saw that I still had my old pants and Kiri legwarmers, but they were all patchy and had some holes. The two Oinin masks and my Kiri kunai were missing alongside the pouch and holster, which was troubling.

Unfortunately I was _still_ shirtless, but a thin layer of bandages were woven all around my torso. "I'm sure that seeing your mother is more important than a wardrobe malfunction." Kakashi said, correctly deducing the woman's identity.

I looked at him indignantly, "Well I don't want to be wandering the streets in a hospital gown. Imagine if they made me wear a pink one. Nobody should be subjected to that much embarrassment."

We exited the room and Kakashi pulled me slightly along, telling me to ignore the nurses.

"So," I said as we were walking, "We're in Konoha, right?" Kakashi nodded, guiding me to dodge a surly-looking man in a wheelchair. "How long have I been in the hospital for?"

"Not long, only a couple days. I heard from my dad that Danzo was super angry that you and your mom were allowed to stay instead of being killed."

Great, just my luck that Danzo is involved already. "Danzo? He already sounds like a jerk." I said.

"Not really, he just wants what's best for the village."

I hummed and decided to change the topic, "So, what's your name?" I asked, despite already knowing.

"Judging by that look you gave me, you already know. How, though, I have no idea." Well he's not called a genius for nothing. "But for appearances sake, my name is Hatake Kakashi." He said. I saw his eyebrows twitch at the sight of the long hallway before us, "This is going to take forever to get over to where your mom is. Do you know how to wall run?"

I smiled fondly, "Yeah, it drove my mom crazy when I just ran around the safehouse. I told her it was training, which it was, but most of the time I did it just to annoy her. I'm Hariken, by the way." Kakashi shook his head with an eye-smile. _'Man, I have no idea what's going on, but as long as I get to Kaa-chan it'll be okay. She'll tell me about everything that happened while I was in this place.'_

Kakashi stopped in front of a window and pushed it open. With a small grunt he heaved himself onto the sill and disappeared over the edge. I had no choice but to follow him. I placed my feet on the outside wall of the hospital and gingerly straightened out. It is an odd experience, being horizontal, but One just gets used to it after a while.

I looked around and saw the silver-haired kid making his way to the roof of the building. I jogged up the wall to catch up and met his impressed look. "How old are you anyway, Hariken?" He asked.

I shrugged, "I'm just five. I was four about a week ago, but my birthday happened when Kaa-chan and I were on the road with Orochimaru and his team."

"And you can wall run already?"

I shrugged again, "It's not that big of a deal. I just happen to have larger chakra pools than average and a whole lot of time on my hands."

We reached the roof of the hospital and Kakashi hopped over the railing, giving me a helping hand. I thanked him and he asked, "How much time did you have if you can already wall run?"

We walked backwards in order to get a running start to roof-hop, "Well, when you're in hiding from the Oinin in a safehouse, there isn't much to do besides train and learn. Most of my life has been spent training, actually." Just to mess with him, I said, "Did you know that every thing that I've ever eaten was poisoned?"

That made Kakashi pause and look at me in disbelief, "What?"

I looked back at him, "Yeah, it all has to do with my Kekkei Genkai. In order for me to build up poison in my fangs I need to eat a bunch of poisoned stuff."

"Do you even have fangs?"

I scrunched my nose at him, "Not yet." I said sourly, "Kaa-chan said they're in the roof of my mouth. They can't come out until I'm in a high-stress situation."

"Like the Sharingan?"

"Yeah." I said. We started to run, me letting Kakashi go slightly ahead so I can see where we'd be going. He jumped high into the air, and I followed suit. For a couple of seconds the two of us were airborne and I watched the incoming roof in anticipation.

I slammed into the roof and pushed chakra into my legs for another jump. Like springs, the two of us bounced off the building. I whooped in joy. Little did Kakashi know that this was the first time I had used the tree-hopping exercise in real life. Sure, I had been carried while tree-hopping, but this was different. _'If I'm doing so well for my first time, does this make ME a genius as well? I dearly hope not. That's one label I can live without.'_

Kakashi led me over the large village, and I couldn't help but have a smile plastered on my face. I felt the wind in my face and for the first time, felt freedom from danger. I looked across the village, and was amazed at how people could have made a place to live in the dense forests.

I touched down next to a particularly irate woman who was hanging her laundry on the line to dry and laughed in delight that things were _finally normal!_ We ran across the roof and bounded into the air. "What do you do for fun, Kakashi?" I shouted past the whistling air.

"I usually just train or raise my ninken. Sometimes Otousan and I go to Hokage-sama's house to eat, but they talk to each other using their hands the whole time. They think I don't notice, but I do."

That wasn't much of a surprise, seeing as how Kakashi was one of Konoha's most renowned prodigies.

We continued to chat for a little bit while we roof-jumped until Kakashi told me to touch down. I landed solidly on the roof overlooking a row of houses and panted slightly. Kakashi looked marginally better, due to conditioning, but he still looked tired. _'Probably his low reserves.'_

"So," I said, crouching to see what Kakashi was looking at, "Is this it?"

He straightened up, "Yeah." He beckoned me to follow him and the two of us fell the couple of stories down to street-level. In front of us was a single story house made out of tan stone and wood like most of the other buildings in the village.

Kakashi pointed down the street to the right, "If you go down that way, you'll get to the market district."

I looked the other way, "What if we go there?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh. If you go far enough that way you'll get to the training fields."

I heard a snippet of conversation from behind the door, "He normally never acts like this, I…"

Kakashi knocked on the door, effectively cutting the voice off. "Just a minute!" I heard a woman say from the other side of the door. My chest tightened. _'Kaa-chan!'_

The door opened and my beautiful, wonderful mother stood there wearing a white tunic and black shinobi pants. Her eyes lit on me and they widened. "Hariken!" She shouted scooping me up into a bearhug. "You're back from the hospital!" She eyed Kakashi standing there with his hands in his pockets, "Who's your friend there?"

I squirmed until she let me go and I introduced him, "Kaa-chan, this is Hatake Kakashi." I looked at him and gestured to Kaa-chan, "Kakashi, this is my Kaa-chan, Umi no Dokuhebi Uroko."

His eyes smiled, "Pleasure to meet you."

Kaa-chan smiled at the two of us, "Well don't just stand there, come on in!" She said, herding us inside.

I looked around in wonder, "Is this where we're going to be living, Kaa-chan?"

She nodded happily, "It was worth sitting in that council hall for all those hours." The three of us entered into a living area painted light yellow with sunshine streaming through open windows. There were three low couches along the walls in a u-shape and a small table in the middle of the three. The last wall was completely filled with empty slots to hold scrolls. Inhabiting the room were an older man and a woman with two buns in her hair on the same couch, and a man with dark sunglasses wearing a massive parka.

"Whoa. This one room is bigger than the entire safehouse!" I said in astonishment.

Kaa-chan nodded with a happy smile and gestured to the people in the room. "Hariken, Kakashi, this is Councillor Mitokado Homura," The older man nodded. I followed Kakashi's example and bowed to the man. "The woman next to him is Councillor Utatane Koharu." She greeted us, and the two of us bowed again. Kaa-chan looked at the last man and he stood up. "Hariken, this man will be staying with us at this house until the two of us are to be considered trustworthy." I didn't notice, but she had a sly smile on her face.

The man was tall, really tall. His pale skin stood out from his dark buzz cut and pitch-black wraparound sunglasses. The overly large parka was dark green and it was zipped up as high as it could possibly go, exposing only the bridge of the man's nose and up. From what I could make out, he was a thin man (if he even was a man, I just took Kaa-chan's word when she said he was.) and he was wearing black pants with tape around the ankles.

The man approached me directly and just stared down at me. I moved my head back, "Uhh. Hello?" I, the genius, said oh-so-eloquently. I could feel his menacing glower from behind the tinted glass, judging me, piercing through my soul like a hot knife through butter.

The man broke the facade like glass and grinned widely (though all I could see were his cheeks lifting), putting me into a headlock and giving me a noogie. I squawked and flailed my arms around trying to escape. Finally I freed myself and rubbed my head. He stuck a hand out for me to shake. I took it. "'Sup kid! My name's Aburame Ran. I'm probably gonna be here till you graduate from the academy. Don't look so surprised, from what Inoichi told me the two of you are gonna be just fine." He said exuberantly.

My eyes were bugging (pun intended) out of my head at this guy. _'THIS DUDE'S AN ABURAME?!'_ I thought. Kaa-chan laughed at my expression. "Oh, go sit down Ran, I think you broke him."

Ran flopped down on the couch and completely unzipped the parka to reveal a handsome smiling face with a stubbly goatee, giving him a roguish look. He had a leaf-green v-neck on with his Konoha hitai-ate serving as a belt.

I looked at Kakashi, who looked just as confounded as felt. "Is this guy for real?" I whispered.

Koharu cleared her throat and stared the Aburame down, "Ran, it would be much desired if you would settle down and curb your childishness."

The man sighed and clasped his hands in his lap, sitting straight-backed and looking so insufferably snobbish that I couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. "Yes, Councillor Koharu. Please, continue."

She narrowed her eyes and muttered under her breath. Homura took that time to step in, "As I was saying earlier." He said, "My colleague Shimura Danzo would normally never act like he did in the meeting. This behavior of his rather new, compared to how long we've known him." I had to physically suppress a groan, _'I just got here and Danzo is already trying to screw me over?'_ "In fact," Homura continued, "He started acting… irrationally a few years ago. Pushing for militarization, being appointed Councillor of War, and instituting a harsher curriculum at the Academy were only some of the things he has done."

My chest tightened ever since Homura said, 'a few years ago' and only continued to squish my ribcage as the man kept talking. _'This is bad. This is REALLY bad. If something happened to Danzo, then whatever is out to get me must be really mad!'_

"Hiruzen has said he'd keep an eye on him, but I fear Danzo's subtle gains of power are just a beginning. Despite the vote being a majority in the meeting three days ago, you had best watch yourselves." Homura said gravely. "That is why Koharu and I negotiated to have you two housed in a district heavily patrolled by the Uchiha police force."

Kaa-chan looked troubled, "Is that why Shikaku-san arranged for a guard to be with us at all times?"

Koharu nodded, "Yes. Nara-san sees the danger that is placed on your heads and used Aburame-san's wariness to have one of his clansmen keep an eye on you. Though Ran-san looks like a fool-"

"And acts like one!" The man chipped in.

"He is a very competent shinobi. Nara-san was crafty in having an Aburame 'judge' the Umi no Dokuhebi, as the kikaichu act as an effective security system." She finished, giving Ran a look.

Both Councillors looked directly at me, "It is a good thing that you have met a strong young man such as Kakashi so early in your time here in the village." Homura said. He eyed the two of us, "The Hatake Clan will not be so easily swayed by honeyed words and politicking. I suggest that the two of you train together and find a tightly-knit group of companions to be around. Hariken should not be left alone where Danzo or his agents can get to him."

My lips tightened, "What about Team Sarutobi?" I asked, "Right now they're some of the only people I can trust right now."

Koharu rose from the couch, "They have been sent to Ame to help the Konoha shinobi fighting there. Because the head of the Inuzuka Clan, Hakkuru, is injured and cannot fight right now, Hiruzen's old team has been sent in his stead."

Homura got up from the chair, "I hope next time we meet, it will be under more amiable circumstances, Uroko-chan. I must excuse myself, Homura and I have a meeting scheduled with Tsukuda-san, seeing as we never truly discussed those supply lines the other day."

The two of them made their goodbyes and left.

Kaa-chan sat down and smiled at Kakashi, "Do you have anywhere to be tonight, Hatake-san? I would like to invite you and your father here to eat, if that is possible."

Kakashi shook his head, "Not that I know of. I will have to ask Otousan if there are any prior arrangements. If we can eat here, I'll send one of my ninken to let you know."

"That would be nice."

With that, the silver-haired boy left, leaving Ran, Kaa-chan, and myself alone in the room. Kaa-chan clapped her hands, "Well, Hariken-kun, it's just us now, why don't I show you around the house?"

I shrugged, "That's fine with me. As long as you tell me what happened after I passed out."

"Then let's start with the kitchen!"

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: So we're here! As most of you can probably tell, this was mostly a filler chapter, not much going on. Every fanfic has these kinds of chapters, as you all know.**

 **I got hit with another family death in early February, and there is probably going to be a death or two in my church soon seeing as how their health is going. It's bad, but I can do nothing but keep my nose up in the air and keep moving forward. As my great-great uncle said, "I'm doing better than I deserve."**

 **I'm going to keep working on more stuff for this fic, there's some ideas clunking around in this head of mine. Between this chapter and the next there's probably going to be a time-skip a couple of years until Hariken is able to enroll in the Academy. Because of the wartime circumstances, the age got bumped back so Kakashi got in early, but Danzo makes it so that Hariken has to wait.**

 **Danzo is difficult to write, but the reason of why he seems so adverse to everybody is going to actually take part in the story. I was going to have Nawaki meet Hariken in the hospital room, but by this time he's already been killed. Kakashi was simple enough to substitute in, and he opens up avenues in the story that I hadn't thought of. (I honestly had no idea where I was going with Nawaki.)**

 **Send a PM if you think you've unraveled the big secret of my story. I was kinda blunt with the little hint in this chapter, and I'm sure some of you have figured it out already.**

 **See ya.**

 **Lancer-of-the-Sun.**


	6. Chapter 6: A New Toy

**Chapter 6: A New Toy**

 **AN: Hello again, my friends(?) I'm back again with another chapter of Juuichi. I must address an issue that has arisen, namely, my timeline. (Thanks to Fapman… A strange name, but anonymity is a part of this site. Nevertheless, I appreciate the review.)**

 **I may have confused you, because I erroneously referred to the canonical timeline beginning when Naruto is born because that is the time when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. Yes, I am aware that the manga starts just before Naruto graduates from the academy, but I needed an easier frame of time to measure at. Does that make sense? For me, the birth of Naruto marked the start of canon time, so I called it so.**

 **Anyways, there is a small timeskip between the end of last chapter and the beginning of this one. At the beginning of THIS chapter, it is _six years before the attack of the Kyuubi_ , not six years before Naruto graduated from the academy.**

 **I hope that clarifies everything, sorry for the confusion.**

 **(P.S. _Nakedfury, nothing involving Orochimaru ends well)_**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**

"Speech"

 _'Thought'_

 **"Attacks! (Translations!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

"Ran, you're an idiot."

The Aburame looked offended, crouching in front of the door to the house. "Of course I am!" He whispered, "But I'm not the one that asked for infiltration training, you did."

"And breaking into Kakashi's house is considered training?" I whisper-asked.

"Yer gonna have to learn it eventually, now shut up and stop making so much noise. Just because it's night doesn't mean that everyone is asleep."

I crossed my arms as Ran continued to silently jostle the lock on Kakashi's front door. I had to give him credit, for such a tall, wiry man, Ran was really good at being quiet. Myself, on the other hand, not so much. _'At least I'm not as clumsy as Vince was.'_ I thought ruefully. While it was true that much of my skills were transferred through the death and subsequent rebirth of Vince, I gratefully did not inherit his, err, _my_ lack of grace.

Even after six years, the identity situation was still confusing at times. Am I Vince? Am I Hariken? Or am I an amalgamation of both?

I was personally leaning more towards the last choice, simply because it is the easiest to reason out. Yes, I was and am Vince, but I'm also Hariken at the same time. While the majority of my life had been spent as Vince, my time as Hariken has changed me as a person. It's really an odd situation, and I can't help but wonder if anyone else had to deal with this kind of thing before.

The lock clicked, and I saw Ran wince at how loud the slight sound was in the relatively silent night. We, like thieves in the night, crept forward and across the threshold of Hatake Manor. Kakashi's clan was never a very large one, so Sakumo had opted for a single, albeit large, house to live in instead of an entire district of the village like the Uchiha or the Hyuuga clans.

I'd been here before, both for informal gatherings and uptight formal dinners when Kakashi's dad had to have important people such as clan heads (except the Inuzuka, Hakkuru was a personal friend of Sakumo and the decorum didn't need to be upheld) or council members over. Stupid protocol. It was much easier just to be able to relax and talk about whatever problems were going on in the village.

Ran led the way through the dark corridor, sneaking gingerly so that the sleeping scarecrow didn't know we were there. If I had any second thoughts about going through with this plan, it was way too late to voice them. We were getting close to Kakashi's room, and I stilled. The last time I went into somebody's house like this, I got someone killed.

The Aburame tapped my shoulder and jerked his head towards the door. No words could be spoken with the close proximity to Kakashi's sensitive ears. I nodded and slunk over, keeping my footsteps silent. This was a test of my abilities as a shinobi as well as a training opportunity from Ran. A kunai slipped into my hand like it had always been there and I set myself to disabling the variety of traps that my silver-haired friend had set up to ward off intruders. The trickiest one by far was the custom-made chakra sensing tag that gave the user a small jolt to alert them to foreign chakra.

They didn't call Kakashi a genius for nothing, after all. I slowly peeled the poison tag off the door frame and grimaced. A paranoid genius, he was. I smiled as Ran handed me a strip of paper with seals drawn on it, _'Paranoid with good reason. Maybe once I knock Kakashi out, Ran'll fill me in on his plan.'_

I did a once-over of the door and went to open it when Ran's hand snapped onto the arm reaching for the knob. He gave me a look suggesting I was stupid then sent half a dozen kikaichu under the small space under the door. While they were absent, he pointed to the floor. I winced at the sight of the tag on the floor painted to look just like the floorboards. I stooped down and peeled the tag off with my kunai, handing it to my Aburame guardian.

He pocketed it and we watched as his insects returned to his jacket. His face twitched into a smile and he nodded to me. All clear. I stealthily opened Kakashi's bedroom door and lowered myself onto all fours, distributing my weight to make any footfalls quieter. My slit blue eyes darted around the room and landed on the form resting on its side on the bed. I clenched the paper that Ran gave me between my teeth gently as I came around Kakashi's bed. I didn't want to be right in front of his face if he woke up, after all.

My friend snorted in his sleep and turned onto his other side, facing me once more. My eyebrows knotted and I looked to the doorway where Ran was still crouched. He fixed me with a steely gaze, urging me to get on with it.

I removed the slip of paper from between my teeth and quickly placed it on my friend's cheek. His eyes flew open and he was about to say something, but I channeled my chakra into the tag. Just before it activated, Kakashi's fist swung out and smashed right into my right cheekbone. There must have been chakra enhancing that strike because I fell onto my back with a crack as my head smacked the bare wood floor.

I rolled up into a combat-ready stance only to see Kakashi slump down into his bed. I breathed out a sigh of relief and approached him. With one of my scaled fingers, I peeled back one of his eyelids, and settled back onto my haunches after making sure Kakashi was really unconscious. Curious fingers probed at my face and I winced, _'That's gonna swell.'_

Ran scowled at me from the doorway, "That was sloppy." He grouched. "In any infiltration scenario, you'd be dead about eight times over."

I crossed my arms, "It worked, didn't it?"

A hand crashed down onto my skull and sent me to the floor again, "That's not the mindset you need to take when you're on a mission." Ran growled. He hoisted me up into the air by my shirt, in full sensei-mode. "Any mission, whether you like it or not, has to be done flawlessly or you just exposed the entire village's association to your targets." He gestured to Kakashi's form on the bed, "As it is, Kakashi knows that you were in his house when he wakes up from the knockout tag, and he'll be pissed and storm to your house in a couple of hours."

Ran took a cigarette from one of his inner pockets and made to light it, but stopped and snatched the kunai out of my hands instead. "Consider this a mission failure. Go home." My shoulders drooped and I trudged out of the room.

' _This is so stupid! I didn't want to be thrown into the shark tank! All I wanted was to be taught how to sneak around, not assault Kakashi in the middle of the night.'_ I thought, nearing the Hatake mansion's main entrance. I carelessly swung the door open and started my slow, shameful walk home. Kakashi's house was just far enough away from the house that was given to Kaa-chan and I to live in that I could stew over my problems.

As I walked, I caught the critical eye of old man Kanojo, who was taking long pulls of the cigarette that his wife had tried to fruitlessly bully him off of. He blew the smoke from his nostrils and didn't say a word as I passed by. He took a swig from the bottle resting in his hand then snuffed out his smoke, heading back inside his house.

The moon was a slice of silver in the sky, gazing down lazily at the village below its celestial body. I sighed and jammed my hands into my pockets. I don't know why people hated me or Kaa-chan so much, but it seemed that wherever I went, there would be an old person glaring at me disdainfully. I don't know what's up with me, or them, but two solid years of silent, stony hatred were starting to grate on me.

"Hey, kid." Said a familiar voice. I spun around and came face-to-chest with Ran. He was more somber than usual, and he had a lit cigarette firmly jammed between his lips. "Walk with me."

"I thought that wanted me to go home?" I asked, more to annoy him out of habit than anything else.

He raised his hand to cuff me on the side of the head, then sighed and ran a hand through his buzzed hair instead. "Quit being a smartass and just walk."

So we walked.

 **\/**

* * *

The next day, before the sun had risen, found me sitting at a frequent haunt of mine with a steaming bowl of noodles in front of my nose, wafting its salty deliciousness to my forked tongue. I wasn't in the mood to eat though, and the ramen would probably end up cold before I decided to shove it into my face. It's a courtesy thing, really.

Ran had apologized for taking me out for 'infiltration training,' saying I was ready for it yet. He told me that when I entered the academy, he'd start to teach me how to get around quietly. That was total bullcrap, because Kakashi had been going to the academy for way longer than me, and I am going to enter into the academy this year. The only reason that I wasn't enrolled already was because of Danzo. The bandaged man, with his increased political pull, had pushed "refugee laws" through the council that required all people from a different nation to go through an extended probationary period before becoming Konoha citizens.

I knew for a fact that he'd instilled these new laws because of Kaa-chan and I. As it is, I had to wait until I was seven until I could enter Konoha's shinobi program. If Danzo had his way, then Kaa-chan would never be allowed to be a citizen, but the Hokage was thankfully on our side for that argument. He managed to reduce the time it took before she could be part of the village to my graduation from the academy when I turn twelve. Hiruzen couldn't completely get his way, and after a long political battle, Danzo made it so that Kaa-chan was prohibited from using chakra unless she had the supervision of one of his ROOT agents.

Without being allowed to use chakra, Kaa-chan couldn't use her shinobi talents to earn money, and she still wouldn't be able to become a shinobi of Konoha until I graduated. We would be left with no money, and no means to live. Kaa-chan and I would die of starvation or exposure in a manner of months unless someone supported us financially.

Thankfully, as Kaa-chan told me, Chouza Akimichi entered the council chamber at that moment and heard what Danzo did to her. Needless to say he got really angry at Danzo undermining a majority vote of the council and attempting to enforce his demands on them. The tongue-lashing he gave the single-eyed man was explosive, and that's how Kaa-chan found herself working a job at multiple Akimichi-owned restaurants, with full benefits.

I was brought out of my thoughts when the flaps behind me shifted and I saw a gloved hand raise a single finger from my peripheral vision. The ramen man was all too eager to comply.

I knew his name was Teuchi, and that he was one of the only people that really cared about Naruto when he was a kid, other than the Hokage, but I didn't feel like getting close to him. It felt almost… wrong to be close to people that would make such a heavy impact on the main character's life, even though he wasn't due to be born in at least half-a-dozen years. That's why I actively avoided seeking the Hokage out, no matter how badly I wanted to see him use Enma or see him spar.

Kakashi and the Sannin were different, they didn't meet Naruto until he was old enough to be set in his ways. Besides, it wasn't Kakashi that made Naruto realize his dream, it was Haku and Zabuza. His sensei kinda just fell under the category of "precious people" after that.

The ramen man's wife, a black-haired happy-go-lucky woman with a beaming smile that could light the sun was standing by the big metal pot that held the noodles for cooking. The woman was kind of like Naruto in the regard that a smile was always on her face and she had a passionate love for the noodles she and her husband served every day. She was always glad to see me in the ramen stand, but today she had noticed my down mood and had apparently decided to stay back.

A bowl was placed to the left of me, where the person had decided to settle into the barstool. I hadn't gotten any sleep at all the previous night due to my failed attempt to 'infiltrate' Kakashi's house and my subsequent walk with Ran, and Ichiraku Ramen was one of the one places that I found was like an oasis of calm even in their busiest hours. Nothing mattered here, except for seeing the customer satisfied and having them return for more later. It was the ramen man's wife's policy. Places like this were few and far between in New York. Perhaps that's why the place held a sense of welcoming to me.

The person next to me cracked their knuckles, snapped the provided sticks in half with a 'itadakimasu!' and dove into their meal. Upon hearing the voice, I sighed and put my forehead into my hands. My tongue darted out and confirmed my suspicions. "Kakashi… Why are you here after what I did to you?"

I heard him slurp his noodles and hum appreciatively to the ramen man's wife, "Mm! Tell Teuchi that I like the new broth he's made." I refused to look up at him and gazed into my own ramen. Kakashi paused and looked at me, "Ne Hariken, you aren't eating your ramen? It's good today."

I scowled and faced him, "I broke into your house and could have murdered you and you just tell me to eat my ramen?! Look at me and tell me you aren't mad about that!"

He faced me impassively, "Ran talked to me this morning. Said that he had wanted to prank me. If anything I should be thanking you for messing up. He claimed that he brought you along for 'training' purposes." He flexed his hand with an eye-smile, "I have to admit, punching you in the face felt rather therapeutic." I glared at his carefree expression, "Would you mind lending it to me so I could relieve some stress sometime?"

I felt all the pent-up tension dwelling inside of me escape like a balloon. I grunted then looked back at my food, which had just stopped steaming, perfect for eating. I took my chopsticks and deftly devoured the noodles, my appetite returning after hearing Kakashi wasn't mad at me. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind beating your pretty-boy face in."

"Oho! Last time I checked I was up by ten in our daily matchups! You think you can make that nine? I don't think so." He turned to the ramen chef, "What say you, Teuchi? Is snakey here going to finally break my winning streak?"

"I'm staying out of this."

I let out a bark of laughter, "You can sure talk some smack Baka Kaka! Don't forget that I won every single day last winter."

"I was sick, Blue. And I came pretty close half the time." He said. Kakashi then faced away from me with a grumble, "I don't like snow anyways."

I turned my nose into the air snootily, "A shinobi must be prepared for any circumstances!"

He turned and slugged me in the shoulder, "You can only say that because you ducked out yesterday."

"So?" I said with a grin, "Are you gonna tell me that I'm not going to win today? You know just as well as I do that we're fairly evenly matched." I finished off my ramen with a flourish of chopsticks.

"Yeah, that exactly what I'm saying. You lose 'cuz your chakra control sucks." Kakashi retorted.

I placed a few ryo coins on the counter and got up, grinning widely. Looking at the sun's rays just beginning to poke over the buildings in the village, I judged we had at least an hour until Kakashi had to get to the academy. "Meet me at the usual training grounds in ten minutes. Let's see who gets the upper hand today." I looked at the dew on the rocky road below and thought about what I've been keeping a secret for the past few months, "I've a feeling it's gonna be me!"

"In your dreams, oh Fangless One."

 **\/**

* * *

Kaa-chan looked like a zombie as she poured herself another mug of coffee. Her sky-blue hair was tossed around in that unique manner that can be achieved only with a pillow and her half-lidded eyes were unfocused. She rubbed her eyes blearily under the black glasses she sported, "Hariken… It's way too early for this crap." She mumbled sleepily. "Can't you just let me sleep in today? I have a long day of working my butt off for you two twits to look forward to."

I strapped my equipment pouch to my black pants and tugged on it to make sure it was secure. "You know that Ran acts like that on purpose, right? I actually use the stuff you get me so I can get stronger, he just hoards it all in his room for his next 'Great Prank.' Besides, you don't _have_ to pay for his stupid backside."

"It's a courtesy thing, Hariken. Ran has already devoted two years of his life to keeping Danzo's ninja off our backs, and he's given us another five until you graduate from the academy. It's only right to pay him for what he does." She lectured. Kaa-chan's face soured, "Don't remind me of his stupid prank conquest," Kaa-chan grumped, "I had to clean up after Ran sent himself to the hospital from all that hairspray. I couldn't look the Yamanaka in the eyes for weeks."

I threaded a finger through the ring on one of my shuriken and spun it before stashing it away. "Don't worry about our spars, Kaa-chan. Kakashi and I go at it every day, why should today be any different?"

"Because it's too early in the morning and I haven't had nearly enough caffeine to deal with you pounding around the house and gathering your supplies."

"You're proud of my initiative and you know it." I said, looking myself in the mirror. Appearance was always important, whether it's for a training session or a dinner. Today was no different. I still had those old blue Kiri legwarmers on over my usual black pants and a pair of black toeless sandals. Gone was the bandages from so long ago, along with the destroyed shirts for that matter. I had on a loose white shirt on with long, flowing sleeves not unlike what a Hyuuga would wear and a bleached-white leather vest over the shirt. Throughout either of my lives, I still kept my fixation on wearing leather of some sort.

She smooched my forehead and pushed me towards the door, "Not this early in the morning, I'm not. Say hi to Kakashi for me."

I patted my left sleeve, making sure my secret weapon was properly concealed. "Don't worry Kaa-chan, you'll have plenty of time to talk with him after we fight."

She sighed, "That's not a toy, Hariken. Please don't do something you're going to regret. Sparring is all well and good, but I'm not going to be happy if one of you ends up in the hospital."

I turned and grinned dangerously, "But that's when we know it's a good fight!"

 **\/**

* * *

I sat cross-legged on the damp grass, waiting for Kakashi to show up. My eyes were shut and my head turned every few seconds. Using the pit organs on my forehead was always mesmerizing, with all the different colors of the heat spectrum whizzing by. A pair of glowing yellow dragonflies flew their daily dance in search for food, and the glowing toads resting near the rocks eyed them hungrily.

Like ripples in the sea, the leaves on the trees swayed under the power of the wind, making an intricate show to any who'd bother paying attention. I smiled at the red-glowing squirrel chittering at the trespasser on his territory. My tongue darted out, tasting sweat and leather in the air. I rolled to the right as the kunai passed through the space my head was milliseconds ago.

Ah, peaceful.

With my eyes closed, infrared vision on full focus, I spotted the red silhouette of the child crouching in the trees. I bared my blue eyes to the world, "You've been spotted, Kakashi. The squirrel gave you away." I said, watching him drop to the ground. This was a little pre-battle tradition of ours, whoever arrived last would try to get the drop on the first person. It was a useless gesture, as both of us were close enough in skill level that we couldn't sneak up on each other. Well, I couldn't sneak up on him and I had the unfair advantage of my pit organs. My snake tongue and his sensitive nose kinda cancelled each other out.

So we came to an impasse.

"Maa, Hariken. You really thought that it was going to be easy?" The tiny scarecrow said. I smiled and hopped back so the two of us were about ten paces away. "No chakra expulsion." He said, laying down the scant ground rules.

"No summons." I retorted.

He nodded, "Fair enough."

With that we both sunk into our respective stances. He had the academy-taught stance with a kunai in hand and I just bent my knees in preparation for whatever he had to dish out. At some unseen signal, Kakashi sprang forward, trying to end it before the spar started. Such a move usually wouldn't work, but I'd been caught off-guard a couple of times.

As he came into striking distance, I crouched and sent a jab into his stomach. Kakashi wove to the side and grabbed my arm, trying to pull me off-balance. I took a few steps forward to counter the grab and spun around to kick him in the midsection. He ducked under the swipe and drove his knife upwards into my calf.

I thanked Kami for my scales as the slash only tore a hole in my pants. Still on one leg, I did a backwards handspring to put some distance between the two of us. Landing on my feet, I tore a few shuriken out and sent them spinning at my silver-haired comrade. He simply dodged or deflected the stars then went in to close the distance once more.

His left foot lashed out, aiming right for my knees. I jumped back to dodge then swung a fist at his face, intending to return the favor from last night. I grunted in dissatisfaction when my fist smashed into a log, splintering the bark. Blindly I threw a leg backwards and caught my foot in something soft and yielding.

I grinned savagely after hearing the air escape Kakashi's lungs with a 'whoof'. I may be absolute garbage at stealth, but I was pretty handy in a scrap. Blind luck was one of Vince's best attributes, after all. I used that back leg as a springboard and pushed Kakashi backwards, only to fall over as he suddenly disappeared. I went on all fours and rolled away, but I was too late. Kakashi's heel crashed painfully into my kidney and I spasmed on the ground, feeling like I was struck by a bolt of lightning.

This time I managed to roll away and sprung to my feet with a wince. "Is that all you can do, Kakashi?" I said. Without bothering to listen for a response, I channeled chakra into my legs and leapt forward. I flicked my wrist and let out my secret weapon. A long, thin tanto with a tapered point slid out from the sheath concealed in my left sleeve and I grasped the handle. Kakashi's eyes widened and he just barely got his kunai up in time to deflect the wickedly sharp edge.

Cackling at his expression, I flipped the blade to my right hand and stabbed at his gut. He gritted his teeth, not that I could see it through his facemask, and took the stab to the palm of his left hand. It was my turn to look surprised as he did the same exact move that I did to him with his kunai. Reacting instinctively, I closed my hand around the blade of the standard issue weapon. "Mmh! Do you sharpen those damn things obsessively?"

We both forced our bodies forward, causing us to be put into a deadlock. Blood quickly seeped from our hands and my face scrunched in pain and concentration. Kakashi gave a humorless chuckle, "I have to get past your scales somehow. A tanto, Blue? Isn't that a bit gaudy for your tastes?" I didn't say anything back, only shoving my right hand forward again. Kakashi grunted as his hand slid forward on the blade and came to rest against my own hand. The silver-haired prodigy made use of his taller size and two extra years of age and bore down on me.

My feet started to slide back but I shifted them so I could get a better grip on the dirt. Our muscles were straining against each other as we tried to stab one another. He had the mechanical advantage as his grip on the kunai was backwards, but my tanto was impaled through his hand. The honed edge of his knife proved true as it bit deeply into my scaled skin. Blood soaked into the grips of the tanto and the kunai.

We held the position for a few moments, struggling against one another until I heard the padding of feet coming into the training grounds. I made the decision to cut short the little deadlock and ripped my tanto from Kakashi's hand. He actually gave a short cry of pain and jerked his hand back. I let go of his kunai and grabbed his wrist instead, the blood making it terribly slippery. I dropped to the ground and lifted Kakashi into the air with my legs.

Remembering my first attempts at tree-walking, I jammed some chakra into my feet and watched as Kakashi was blasted off of me.

We both got up swiftly and ran at each other to clash again. I clumsily swiped at Kakashi's face mask with the tanto in my uninjured hand. He parried the short sword, already adjusting his fighting style to compensate for it. The damage was already done, though. I effectively disabled one of his hands, and he knew it.

Nothing a little medical ninjutsu couldn't fix. What was a short trip to the hospital when the injuries were earned in the pursuit of becoming stronger?

The knife in his right hand darted forward at my neck, and I leaned back to avoid it. When I swung back forward, I let out an angry yell. With chakra imbuing my limbs, I drove the tanto down into a vicious arc, fully intending to cleave a part of Kakashi off.

My friend hopped back and eyed me warily, "You really aren't taking it easy today, are you?"

I growled and sank into a swordsman's stance, with my right leg pointing forward and my tanto held loosely in my fingers. "If you don't fight with the intent to kill, you will never win a spar, or any fight for that matter."

I rushed him again, fully intending to win the spar when a gloved hand darted out and caught my wrist. I glared at the source of the limb but then sighed when I saw the spinning red eyes. The Uchiha policeman must have been the person I'd heard walking towards the training field. We usually ignored people, as they're mostly just genin and chuunin waking up early to get extra training time in before they had to do missions.

The grip of the red-eyed man increased and I scowled as I dropped my weapon. He let go and faced Kakashi, "This spar is over." The Uchiha said in a smooth voice. "Hatake Kakashi, go to the academy. Today we lost an hour due to daylight savings, and you were absent. I was sent to find you." Ah, yes, another part of Danzo's reforms. If you were absent from the academy, then one of the Uchiha policemen were sent to literally drag you back.

He turned to me and narrowed his eyes, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

I jerked my arm out of his grasp then bent down to retrieve my dropped weapon, stiffening when my side made itself known. After flicking the blood off, the tanto found itself back inside the sheath in my left sleeve. I bowed politely to the man and Kakashi, then walked away.

 **\/**

* * *

Kakashi twitched as he saw the form of his friend stalk off. Hariken was only polite either when he was in a formal atmosphere or when he was pissed. Kakashi didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty ticked as well. Even though the spar was just beginning, it was going to be a good one. It wasn't often that Hariken pulled something like a tanto from out of nowhere, and had the Uchiha not intervened, the spar would have really been one to remember.

Speaking of the Uchiha, "What's really going on?" Kakashi said. "Spring forward isn't due until next week."

The policeman looked at the silver-haired academy student. "Your father has returned from his mission. The Hokage tasked me with bringing you to the tower."

"Why couldn't Hariken come along as well? The Umi no Dokuhebi Clan and the Hatake Clan are becoming fairly close."

The Uchiha's face twisted unhappily, "I am not privy to that information, Hatake-san. Now come along, you are expected."

 **\/**

* * *

Yeah, I was angry. But who wouldn't be after being denied the opportunity to show off? After pretty much being told to piss off by the Policeman, I went to the hospital to get my hand looked at. It was nothing major, but the cuts on my hand would drive me nuts at home. The kidney shot also hurt really badly, and if my past life's knowledge was to be trusted, I needed that looked at by a medic-nin.

So here I was, holding a hand to my side and taking gentle steps down some seedy side-streets over to the hospital as some roughneck early-bird civilians stared me down. In all honesty, their eyes tracking my every move were disconcerting. I was never someone that liked having all attention on myself, being the more secluded child in Vince's family. Don't get me wrong, I liked having some attention, but having more than just a bit would make me go back into my shell.

Ah, here we go again. Thinking too much about my past life made me all brooding and moody.

' _What would have happened if I stayed home? Would Gerald still be alive?'_ I thought. The pride in that one child's eyes when he gleefully announced the murder of my family was answer enough. Unless I somehow managed to hide away, I would die. Even then, _they_ would chase me to the ends of the Earth. Living peacefully was not an option.

' _I had my pain, Nagato. Now where is my peace? It's obviously not here, I've been glared at and hated every minute I've been in Konoha. What about you, Shinigami? Do you have a solution to my problems?'_

I heard the rapid pattering of feet behind me and was too slow to react before a brown blur slammed into my back, sending me to the ground with a loud shout of pain. Whoever hit me was going so fast that, after sending me to the ground, they bounced off of my back and tumbled to a rest several feet in front of me. I curled up into a ball and cried out in agony. Sure, this wasn't nearly as bad as getting my entire back burned off, but it felt like someone was repeatedly slamming a boulder into me. _'Dammit Kakashi! Why do you always have to fight dirty!'_

My current tormentor was laying there in the dirt, "Oww…" A girl's voice said. She shakily got to her feet and went over to my side. I felt a hand placed on my shoulder as I was in the fetal position, "You okay?" She asked.

Before I could respond, or even catch my breath from it being driven out of my lungs, I heard several citizens shouting, "There she is! The brat's over by that damned blue-skinned murderer!" My lungs finally started working and I sucked in a lungful of dusty air, which sent me into a coughing fit.

The hand on my shoulder disappeared, "Crap!" The girl shouted, "I gotta get outta here! I hope you're okay!" With that, the girl dashed off. I didn't even get to look at her.

Slowly, I got to my hands and knees, still hacking out a lung and trying to peer through my tear-filled eyes. I got fed up with trying to see, and just closed my eyes, focusing on infrared vision to guide me. Immediately the world was filled with multicolored shapes, the most prominent being yellows and reds. I tilted my head up to 'see' around, and noticed a ring of people surrounding me.

There was a dark chuckle and one of them stepped forward, "Looks like that little piece of gutter trash got away, but look at what we landed instead, eh boys?" The man said with a sneer. Snickers and some quiet laughter rang through the air. The same man that spoke grabbed the back of my shirt roughly, hoisting me into the air, "Our little Anko managed to give us the slip but she left us quite the reward."

I finally cleared my eyes enough to open them and see in the full light spectrum instead of using their heat signatures. In front of me was a greasy-looking man with yellow teeth and a lazy eye. He had a worn leather jacket and reeked of alcohol. That was all I could see of him before I was violently thrown to the ground. I landed on my knees, but the man planted his boot into my injured side and sent me to the ground. More laughter rose up from the ring of thugs as the man puffed out his chest, "See here, boys. We oughta thank that little tramp for servin' us up some fresh meat!" He said triumphantly.

I tried to get up but I was shoved to the ground again. This time, one of the man's cronies jammed a foot into my spine to keep me down, digging his heel against my shoulder blades. The leader, or who I assumed was the leader based on all of his showboating, walked around in a circle like a gladiator. "'Sea-Viper'" He mocked, "Ha! This guy ain't nothin' but a 'Sea-shrimp!'" He bent down and pulled on my ears, shaking my head roughly, "You probably don't even have a pair, do ya!"

The gang laughed again. The leader shook his head in disgust, "Probably not. I saw how a little girl put you down. Let me ask you a question, how the hell didja manage to hurt yourself by getting knocked down by a girl? She ain't nothin but skin and bones!" I growled and placed my palms on the road, trying to lift myself up. My face was planted back into the road by the man's foot on my back.

"Oh! He's a feisty one! Don't like me talkin' smack? Well, let me tell ya why I'm doing this to ya. Ya see, a while ago, Uzushiogakure got surrounded by the other hidden villages. Every last one of em was there to fight. They charged the gates of the city, and not a single Uzumaki survived." He made a motion to his man and I got lifted up. His heavily-bagged eyes were shoved into my face. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and it made me gag, "And do ya know who was in the very front?" When I didn't answer, his face purpled and he roared, "ANSWER ME!"

I shook my head and he sneered, "Course you don't. It was your damn 'Sea-Shrimp' clan that led the charge." The man shook my shoulders, "Y'know what that means, you stupid little shit?" He demanded. "That means that we, as Konoha citizens have the right to kill every last one of you freaks because you killed our closest ally!" I was shaken again, and I gritted my teeth, "We cheered when we heard about you damn Sea-Vipers being wiped out by the Mizukage!"

He threw me to the ground, and I felt something crack. He kicked my ribs once, twice, three times with his heavy work boots. My hands flew to my ribs, but the man didn't care, he just kicked them as well. "Now we learn that the Hokage is bringing you killers into our village? Hell no!"

The man had had enough, "I'm sick and tired of hearing shit news like this! I've taken this for long enough! I'm not gonna sit around here knowin' that we're takin' care of these bastards!" He continued to take out his frustration on me with kicks.

A goon was ordered to stand me up and the leader sank his fists into my stomach hard enough to make me cough out blood. I wheezed and slumped in the goon's grip. "Those fancy scales of yours ain't doin' jack against internal wounds, huh? Good, I want you to feel this!" I looked up and saw the man slip some brass knuckles onto his fingers.

For the first time in a long time, I felt anger, red hot and as thick as molten steel. I looked up at the man with hatred in my eyes, the very same that so many others projected at me when I just take a walk. Chakra flooded into my muscles. I still had plenty of energy and anger to burn off from my interrupted spar with Kakashi.

The goon holding me upright really never had a chance.

I reached back and grabbed his shoulders, and with a heave, sent him sprawling into the dirt. The other thugs took this as a signal and surged forward. I leapt at the leader first, a message had to be sent. With a yell, I grabbed him and sent him flying at one of his men. They both fell into the guy that I threw into the dirt, and I heard him make a strangled yell before falling silent.

Using the same momentum, I went into a roll and swiftly stood, sizing up my opponents. They stood there in shock that their boss just got chucked and I did a quick head count.

' _Five fully-grown men, their drunk ringleader, and one of their already downed friends versus a seven-year-old with full access to his chakra? That's just unfair.'_ I grinned toothily, feeling a bloodlust well up inside of me. _'For them.'_ The boss rose from the dogpile of thugs, and saw the number advantage he had, "What're you doing just standing there! There's six of us and one of him, kill it!" He yelled.

His men saw their boss' reasoning and stepped forward. I was surrounded. Some sweat dripped down from the pores between my scales as I looked for an opening.

' _There!'_ One of the goons had a too-wide stance and was fully unprepared for my roll between his legs. As I passed under him, my chakra-enhanced foot lashed out right into his crotch. He dropped with a squeak, clutching himself and rolling to the side. "Five!" I , this put me right in front of the boss. He grabbed at me and succeeded only in snatching my right sleeve before my left fist swung directly into his temple. I winced as some blood gushed from the deep cuts from Kakashi's weapon. Something caved in and I pushed the boss to the ground roughly. He was unconscious before his body hit the ground. "Four!" I growled.

One of his men yelled out in anger and swung at my head while my back was turned, clipping my skull. I jolted forward, seeing stars. They capitalized on this and two of them put my arms into holds. As a shinobi-in-training, I was insulted as one of my feet found its way into the side of the left man's knee. He crumpled to the ground, clutching at his joint as I grabbed the man on the right.

My chakra flared as I flipped him onto the left man and gave him a sharp fist to the face. His head snapped to the side and he went still. "Three… Two." I counted.

I turned and one of the remaining goons swung a pipe into my right shoulder. By the time I saw the weapon, it was too late. Something in my shoulder audibly snapped and I yelled, clutching at the limply-hanging arm. My eyes darted to him and I saw him reaching back for another swing.

In a single fluid motion, my tanto was out of its sheath and in my aching hand, blood already seeping into the leather-wrapped handle.

I ducked the pipe-man's next strike and took a quick step forward. The remaining man grabbed my right arm, sending jolts of white-hot pain rushing through my body. It was too late for the thugs, however, as my tanto was sent into the hand wielding the pipe. The makeshift weapon was dropped and I lashed back around to face the man holding my useless arm. He tried to block my weapon, but he too, felt the bite of the cold steel. My arm was dropped as he tried to stem the blood flow from his meaty shoulder.

I tore my knife from his limb and turned to the man formerly holding the pipe. The man wasn't finished though, as he pulled his own knife out and jammed it hilt-deep into my thigh. I yelled and turned on him again. Chakra writhed beneath my skin, and I stabbed my tanto into his bicep, watching the knife go clean through the muscle and to the other side.

He let out a long holler, and I shut him up with the pommel of my short sword. I breathed deeply, and my tongue tasted the tang of blood in the air. "One."

The man held up his hands in surrender, "Please!" He begged, "I have a family! Tensho pressured me into his gang because I owe a debt to him! Don't kill me!"

I spun the tanto and wiped it clean on my pants, returning it to the sleeve-sheath with a spin. "I am not a killer." I said. "Never speak ill of my family ever again. The crimes committed by my ancestors are not the crimes committed by mother or myself. I will bear the assault of these men, but if I ever hear you accusing me of things other people in the Umi no Dokuhebi clan have done," I growled, leaning toward the man, "I will make sure that you never accuse anybody ever again, understood?"

He nodded, and made my way past him, heading to the hospital once more. Only this time, the trip was more well-deserved.

 **\/**

* * *

The injuries from my past two fights came back in violent waves as my adrenaline faded, and I collapsed to my knees. I groaned through my teeth and placed my cut up left hand on the ground to assist me back to my feet. The knife in my leg hurt. A lot. But I couldn't pull it out or it'd make the bleeding way worse than it was now.

I've never tried one-handed signs, but I figured it was worth a shot as I held up a half-slug, feeling rather foolish when nothing happened. Instead, I gritted my teeth together and clenched my fists as best as I could. The chakra came sluggishly, but it gave me the needed boost so that I could stand up steadily once more.

My eyes were squinted shut from the pain, so I relied on my pit organs to act as a second set of eyes. I saw the red silhouette of a head poke from behind an alleyway just ahead of my position. As much as I didn't want it to, the flow of chakra stopped, and I fell back to my knees, jostling my ribs, my kidney, my upper back, and my shoulder painfully. The tears in my eyes made dual rivets down the sides of my face, wiping the dirt away from my time face-down in the road.

Hesitantly, the glowing red form made its way out of the alley and approached me. The small person gently touched my left shoulder and quickly jerked it back, "Ah, um… Are you okay?" It was the girl that knocked me over.

I wanted so badly to be angry, to explode into the same kind of exhilarating rage as when I beat the gang down. I opened my eyes and saw the girl's face for the first time. Concerned brown eyes stared at my face, and I lifted my arm into the air. "Help me up," I said with a sigh. I hated to have to ask for help, but it seems that I really don't have a choice here. Well, I did have a choice, but I didn't have the heart to make such an innocent face go away. "I need to get to the hospital to get looked at."

Realizing that I wasn't going to hurt her, the girl piped up cheerfully, "Yeah! That was so cool the way you beat up Tensho's gang!" She took my left arm and slung it around her thin shoulders, helping me to my feet. I was surprised she knew how to lift me up, I half expected the girl just to hoist me to my feet and leave me to collapse at least a couple of times before finally getting the hint. "How did you do that?" She asked.

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself before asking such questions?" I asked, mostly just to see her reaction. That's one of my quirks, I guess. I like to annoy people.

Her cheeks burned red and she huffed, "My name is Anko, and you didn't give your name either."

I stiffened in surprise, but I passed it off as pain from my injuries. _'Anko? As in former student of Orochimaru Anko?'_ I hummed as we walked down the street. "Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken." I greeted. "I'd bow but I'd probably fall over. To answer your question, I am a ninja-in-training, I have my ways."

"So," Anko said, "What's you do to those guys that they were so mad at you about?" I closed my eyes and said nothing.

"In truth, I don't know why they attacked me. Their leader-"

"Tensho? He has the weird eye and smells bad."

I nodded, "Yeah, him. He said something about my clan destroying a village, which doesn't make sense because I was always told that the other major villages attacked Uzushiogakure. Nothing was said about my clan having to do anything with it." _'As a matter of fact, I know the Umi no Dokuhebi didn't even exist.'_

"Oh." She said. We kept walking- er… hobbling to the Konoha hospital. "Well, thanks for beating those guys up. I keep telling the orphanage matron that they keep chasing me around."

My eyes narrowed dangerously, "Enlighten me. What are seven grown men doing chasing around a girl as young as you?" I swear, if it's anything bad, I'm going to have to rethink my position on killing.

She rubbed the back of her purple, fanned-pineapple hairstyle sheepishly, "Uh, I may or may not have put itching powder their shampoo and glued their shoes to the floor."

I groaned in exasperation, "What on Earth would possess you to do something like that?"

Anko shrugged, "I dunno. Tensho's a big jerk. He gets after everyone in the orphanage, calling us unwanted and stuff. I wanted to get back at him." She smiled, "So I snuck into his house early this morning and sabotaged a bunch of his stuff." Anko's face shifted to a scowl, "I was only caught because of his stupid cat. That brown mangy jerk should be given to someone that loves it so much that it's tortured every second it's with its owner."

A smile spread across my face as I remembered poor Tora in the same conditions that Anko was describing. That cat had a seriously long lifespan, it had to have if it was still being smothered by the Daimyo's wife in Naruto's life. Now, it was still being unfortunately squished by a younger version of the woman. I chuckled darkly as I thought about Jiraiya complaining out in the wilderness about having to catch it. "See?" Anko said, completely missing my reasons for laughing, "You agree with me!"

I blinked, "Huh? Oh, no I wasn't thinking about that. I was just remembering someone I met that was forced to capture Tora many, many times."

"Who?"

"Jiraiya. Serves him right."

Anko stopped, "Like, Jiraiya from Orochimaru's team?" She asked. _'Oh, yeah. I forgot that Anko idolized Orochimaru when she was younger.'_

"Yeah, you know Jiraiya? He was part of the border patrol team that escorted Kaa-chan and I to Konoha for the first time. My mom says to stay away from him, even though he's been in Ame for the past few years fighting in the war."

Anko snickered when I called my mom 'Kaa-chan' and I mentally groaned. "Kaa-chan, really? I thought you were super cool when you beat up those guys, but then you turn around and act like a total kid."

"Just shut up and help me carry my carcass over to the hospital." I pleaded.

"Sure… momma's boy." She teased.

We finally reached the (rather ugly) white building by the time the sun rose. Konoha had once more reached point of being a bustling haven like it does every morning. The girl that had accompanied me the way over let my arm go as I lowered myself painfully into a bench. I sighed and slouched down into the seat. Anko sat next to me, making sure to avoid the knife imbedded in my thigh. "So, how do you know Orochimaru? Is he just as cool as I think he is?"

' _Probably not as much as you think… Oh, poor Anko, you're going to get your heart broken when he tosses you aside like trash.'_ "He's… alright. I didn't talk to any of them that much. My _mother_ ," I said, emphasizing the word, "Had me stay pretty close to her side the entire time."

I remembered back to my argument with Kaa-chan, when Orochimaru had interjected and encouraged me to become stronger. "He respects strength." I said. "And he told me that I needed to train when I got to Konoha so that I can get stronger."

"Really?" Anko said, eager to hear about the man she looked up to. "He's the reason why I want to become a shinobi!"

I tried to get up, offering my arm so that we could go inside the (rather ugly) hospital building, "Well, you can join me at the academy this year." I offered. "If we work hard enough maybe he'll be our jounin sensei."

From the look in her eyes, I knew that I may have just made a horrible mistake.

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: Not much happening plot-wise, but we met Anko and Hariken beat up a bunch of thugs. I don't really know what to say about this chapter other than "It's there!"**

 **If you need to say anything, don't hesitate to review.**

 **Severely lacking in stuff to say,**

 **Lancer-of-the-Sun**


	7. Chapter 7: Making a Mark

**Chapter 7:**

 **AN: Hi everyone. Sorry about the lack of these past couple of chapters. It was a rough time all around. Want to know my excuses that you probably don't care about? My father's cousin died, my great-great uncle died, my great-uncle died (yes, two different people), the FAN ON MY COMPUTER BROKE, and finally I went to Camp Li-Lo-Li for a good ol' time.**

 **Plus side is that by the time you're reading this, I will have a new laptop and hopefully be updating back on my monthly schedule.**

 **To address Naked Fury (even though the review is for Mokuzai, it is relevant to both stories): Yes, I will use those 'Jap terms' and nothing you can do will stop me. My writing is my writing. I refuse to bow down to anyone thinking they can order me around about the language I use in my stories. If you notice, I put a handy little translation right next to the Japanese.**

 **To all the readers, let me tell you that I will take your advice and ideas into consideration, and will possibly put it into the stor(ies). The only way I can hear your collective voices is through reviews. So if you don't mind, would you please?**

 **Thank you and have a good day.**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**

"Speech"

 _'Thought'_

 **"Attacks (Translations)" ← Looking at you, Naked Fury.**

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* * *

I sat cross-legged, suspended an inch or two above the floor by a softly glowing blue shield, staring at the disgruntled clan head in front of me while rubbing my bandaged shoulder. Pipes hurt when they shatter arms, even after two weeks of Iryo-ninjutsu, I felt the occasional twang or stiffness.

"You know, all this chakra is being wasted when we do this." I informed the man yet again. "It could be going into powering seals or something."

Nara Shikaku only sighed, having heard this before, "And you know why that can't be done, Hariken. Danzo doesn't trust you or your mother, and the less you're seen doing good things for the village, the better. He wants you to be as isolated as possible until the war is over." He glanced tiredly in my direction, "I don't need to remind you of how lucky you are to have found your two friends,"

I winced, remembering how I haven't seen Kakashi since that one day. "...otherwise you would have nobody but your mother, and we both know how troublesome women are."

I heard a throat clear and looked to see Shikaku's fiancée Yoshino standing in the doorway, "Troublesome am I?" She asked, the threat clear in her voice.

Let it be known that Nara Shikaku was a brave man, or at least not afraid of the terror that is a woman scorned. "Yup." He quipped, completely unfazed. "What are you doing here babe?"

An eyebrow rose at the daring endearment after the perceived insult, "I came to remind you that Hokage-sama wanted to speak to the boy after your little session, or have you forgotten that as well, my lazy husband-to-be?"

"No, I haven't." said Shikaku. "Alright, Hariken. Let loose. We need you at reasonable chakra levels so your coils don't rupture and you have the Hokage to talk to."

I really didn't have that much chakra left, so I pushed the warmth out until I was feeling slightly dizzy and tired. The shield became more corporeal and translucent instead of looking like glowing blue water.

The only reason I knew that I had to stop then was because of the other chakra expulsion sessions where there was a Hyuuga present. The man had sneered at me, then told when I had the normal level of chakra for a kid my age, which was actually pretty low for me. I just remembered what that feeling was, then stopped pushing chakra out whenever that feeling came back. Simple, really.

When my head started feeling light and floaty, I let the chakra barrier down. It shattered with a sound like many tree branches snapping and the clan head looked on nonplussed. Onto the bare boards I fell with a small puff of dust. I looked down at the lingering dust cloud and raised an eyebrow in Shikaku's direction. He just shrugged, uncaring over the state of the room. I got up, dusting my pants with a very noticeable patting sound.

Following the two Nara out of the nondescript one-room house, I allowed my thoughts to drift. _'Why would the Hokage want to talk to me? I've been somewhat under the radar since Kakashi's dad died. I mean, the only real waves I've made was beating up those thugs that were chasing Anko down.'_

I frowned, remembering two weeks ago and wondering if Kakashi got his hand healed after I put my tanto through it. _'Probably, he's not stupid enough to leave something like that unchecked.'_

Speaking of the weapon, Kaa-chan had me hand it over after seeing my wounded state. She thought Kakashi and I had beat the stuffing out of each other and elected the weapon too dangerous for now.

She said she was going to give it back soon, but I already missed the slight weight up my sleeve. In fact, the lack of the knife up my sleeve only made me anxious as I walked home from the academy alongside Ran. I was glad for his presence, otherwise I would get the full force of the angry looks from the people going about their daily lives.

It was a personal crusade of mine to get them to _stop_ hating me. It might be a fruitless venture (the loss of a close ally and good friend is not something so easily forgotten, I would know) but I'm determined to earn the favor of the people of Konohagakure. If they end up liking me, great! If not, then I can settle for them accepting me as one of their own.

I was jolted back to reality by the shadow of the wall around the Hokage tower passing over my eyes. _'Speaking of angry looks,'_ The chuunin standing guard at the front gate of the Hokage Tower glared at me as the three of us were passing by. In response I flashed him a big smile which didn't lessen the heat of his look any less.

As we entered the building, I glimpsed a shadow disappearing skittishly from the corner of my eye. _'Hm. Must be a new recruit. Usually the only way I can see Danzo's lackeys is if I use thermal vision.'_

After climbing a few sets of stairs, I saw a woman in a Jounin vest sitting behind a desk organizing some papers. She looked up, "Hello Nara-san," her lips curled in distaste, "Hebi." She turned her attention back to the two adults, "You are dismissed. Hokage-sama wants to speak alone with that thing. It's Aburame guardian will be here to pick it up later."

Yoshino, already grumpy, looked ready to give the secretary a piece of her mind when Shikaku shrugged and slung an arm over her shoulders, "C'mon Yo. Let's get something to eat." With her ire now transfixed on Shikaku, she started tearing into him instead. I caught Shikaku's eye and he regarded me. _'You owe me._ ' His tired gaze seemed to say.

As their voices faded down the hallway and down the staircase, it was just myself and the woman remaining. I could tell how put off she was from my presence by how stiffly she started behaving and the way her face curled up into a scowl. Suddenly the tapping of her folders and the swishing of papers became much more loud, and the silence of the room, more deafening.

I felt a trickle of chakra that was definitely not mine seep into my system. The shadows in the room became much more pronounced, and the glint of the woman's hitai-ate became more deadly-looking. In front of my eyes this woman changed from a demure secretary to a lethal shinobi to be feared.

I grit my teeth and sent the woman a nasty look, viciously expelling the foreign chakra. Her eyebrows rose cynically and with a soundless pop, the room returned to its former state. The two of us shared angry stares until the door to the Hokage's office opened.

In an instant the two of us returned to our former state. I was smiling happily at nothing (though it probably didn't reach my eyes) and the woman was organizing her files. Sarutobi Hiruzen popped his head out of the door and smiled, "Ah, hello Hariken. Please, come in, I would like to talk to you."

 **\/**

* * *

The Hokage had me stand silently while he shuffled some papers, muttering about his excess of work to do.

It was starting to get awkward when the Hokage sat down. He placed his pipe between his lips and lit it without a glance in my direction. It was within his power to do just about what he pleased, I certainly wasn't about to tell the leader of Konoha not to smoke. "It has come to my attention," He started, "that a group of individuals has been assaulted recently."

Well, there goes any doubts about where this conversation was headed. I stared at my sandals, trying to show submission. If there was any chance of me lessening punishment, it would be if I showed regret for my actions. The thing is, though, I don't regret what I did at all.

"They say," he continued, "that a young man about your age targeted these individuals with harmful intent. He was a shinobi in training, only recently admitted into the academy, actually." He knit his fingers together and placed his elbows on the table, staring at me from over his hands. "One would ask how such a young person could possibly defeat not one, but seven fully grown adults. Even an academy student should not be able to do such a feat."

I swallowed nervously but my mouth was dry. The Hokage undoubtedly noticed this, but kept going as if nothing happened, "Witnesses say they even saw a girl at the scene of the crime."

The moment he brought Anko into this my chest tightened _. 'Anko had nothing to do with it! Don't blame her for something that she didn't do!'_ I thought angrily.

"Is it because of her that the boy fought so hard? Or was it for a different reason?" Asked Hiruzen rhetorically. I grimaced at the floor, _'I never saw her at all until after. I attacked those guys because they attacked me and I just… Snapped.'_

It wasn't until the Hokage nodded that I'd realized I spoke that aloud. I beat myself up internally, _'WHY DO I KEEP DOING THIS?!'_ Me talking to myself aloud wasn't just a problem here, because Vince was just as terrible at keeping his thoughts in his head.

"Tell me, Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken. What right did you have to attack those men?" Hiruzen asked, all pretense of playing with pronouns gone. "Is defending your family's honor worth getting thrown out of a place you and your mother have worked so hard to get to? A place, that you were not welcome inside in the first place?"

My shoulders slumped, and despite the inner child wanting to rear its ugly head, I held control, "No… it's not worth it. Destroying something that we worked so hard to get is stupid. My mother came here knowing about the prejudices that the people of Konoha held for us. We… we haven't talked about it yet, but I know she hid the truth from me. The first I heard of what the Umi no Dokuhebi clan did to Uzushiogakure was back a week ago when Kakashi's dad died!"

The Hokage settled back in his chair and took a draw from his pipe. "Ah. And here we are. The reason why you fought those men. Kakashi. I know about the spars the two of you used to have daily." He said. "You were interrupted in the middle of one when my officer brought young Kakashi here. And I suspect you are have not had a good fight since."

My lips quirked into a brief snarl at the reminder of the policeman. It was all his fault that all this happened! If he hadn't come until after the spar, none of this would have happened!

The voice of my conscience whispered in my mind, _'You wouldn't have met Anko then. She would have been chased down and beaten…'_ It drifted off into silence as if it was going to continue. My eyebrows knit together at the idea of Anko going up against seven adults.

 _I_ had the unfair advantage of another life's experience to draw on, though it is rather lacking. She had nothing but ingenuity and reflexes. No proper training like I did with Kaa-chan. Heck, she's a prodigy already, but I was trained by the student of a Kage all my life. Come to think of it, Anko will too. Soon.

The voice whispered one more thing, clinging onto the previous comment, _'...Or something worse than a little beating would happen to her. You saw those men, and you know what kind of people they are. Drunkards, with loosened inhibitions. Who knows what they'd get into?'_

My jaw clenched at the thought of what seven grown men could do to a little defenseless orphan girl. I looked at the Hokage. "No, Hokage-sama, I have not had a spar since that day. I know what I did was wrong in the eyes of all who saw it, and maybe you, too. But there is not a chance that I'll take back what I did. This is not about my pride, though I didn't think of it like that before. This is about me protecting people that I don't even know. You heard about what happened on that road in Hi no Kuni." A guess, but he probably knew by now, "So I took the pain and the burden of Anko on myself!"

The Hokage blew out a cloud of smoke in my direction, his strong lungs sending the acrid scent at my face. "It sounds like you have something to prove." He hummed and closed his eyes, speaking almost to himself. "Whatever it is, it has the ability to drive a young child to send seven men to the hospital." He opened his eyes, and I felt like they were piercing my soul. "Make sure that you do not attack my citizens, _academy student_. You _will_ be watched. You are dismissed."

I bowed quickly, wanting to stay as far away from this very powerful man as I could. The longer I was exposed to 'The Professor's vaunted intelligence, the greater the chance that he would figure my secrets out. That is one thing that I hope to take to my grave a long, long, long, time from now.

Before I could open the door, Hiruzen's voice called out to me, "Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken. I have reason to suspect that you will be needed by the village of Konoha in the near future. For future reference, it is best if you do not attack the people you are living alongside. Actions such as those tend to have repercussions. For now, this incident will be kept under cover, but I will not tolerate any more of this, Umi no Dokuhebi-san."

He pinned me to the spot with his grey eyes, "Are we understood?"

I bowed, "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

After a few tense seconds, he nodded. "Good. You are dismissed."

 **\/**

* * *

The nurse hummed as she unwound the bandages on my previously dislocated shoulder. In all honesty, I wanted to hum a jaunty little tune as well. Two weeks without being able to do any serious lifting, which included pretty much any form of training besides mental, was a terribly long time for me.

With a notable lack of video games or _interesting_ novels or anything of the like to keep me occupied, I became restless very easily. The books here were unbelievably dull. In retrospect, that's probably why Naruto hated reading so much.

When the last strip of cloth fell away from my scaly limb, I immediately rotated my shoulder. There was only some stiffness, which according to the nurse, meant that the iryo-nin's chakra was doing its job like it should. Iryo-ninjutsu is so taken for granted. A break that severe in my other life would lay me out for months and leave plates and screws in my arm for the rest of my life. I would take two weeks and not being able to do anything over months and screws any day.

"There you are, Umi no Dokuhebi-san. You are free to go, but refrain from strenuous activity." The nurse gave me the hairy eyeball, "Such as fighting several men in their prime at the same time. I know how you ninja are, but you're starting a bit young, aren't you?"

I grimaced. The nurses and iryo-nin were the only people not openly scowling at me, but they still wouldn't let me forget any bad thing I did. Kami help me if I sneezed in the wrong way in 'their waiting room.'

And I thought my mother's badgering was annoying.

She gave me a pat on the arm,"Don't look too happy now. I'm clearing you to return to your usual training regimen. Now get out of here, I have other foolish shinobi to attend to." I did a quick bow and left. I saw my one remaining friend standing next to my irritating Aburame 'observer' in the hallway. I gave them a smile, "I'm good to go now, so you can stop being all annoying about my wellbeing."

A firm fist slugged the arm that was just recently given the okay. I winced and tried to jab at Anko's side in retaliation. "No really," I drawled, "Your concern is touching."

Anko let out a bark of laughter, "Yeah right! In your dreams, Blue." She said. "I'm just happy that I can put your face in the ground again without this bulldog here breathing fire down my neck." The girl jerked her thumb at the shades-wearing man.

Ran snorted and ground a hand into Anko's hair roughly, "Be careful what you wish for, little girl. I know a few Inuzuka whose ninken can do simple Katon jutsu."

She grinned right back at him, "Like I'm scared of a couple dogs, old man."

I facepalmed, covering my smile. Anko is a fierce little fireball, no pun intended, and there's only one other person I know of that can get under other peoples' skin so easily, and he isn't even born yet!

She really meant nothing of it, she's just having fun. Dangerous and annoying fun to Ran. Anko just so happened to meet Ran on the first day of Academy before he even started escorting me, and the two hit it off instantly.

There was no little 'coincidental meeting' either. Anko plonked down on the welcome mat first thing in the morning, and waited for me to come so we could walk together.

It was rather frightening, actually, the way she and Ran hit it off. I dearly hope that Naruto doesn't join the terrible duo, or else Konoha would be nothing but a pile of cinders by the time they got through with it.

I was brought out my musings by the younger, female hothead springing backwards with her fists raised. "Wanna go, old man? I'll put you so deep in the ground not even your _bugs_ will know where to find you!"

' _I highly doubt that.'_

Ran, never one to _not_ rise to a challenge, grinned widely and got in Anko's personal space, "Let's go!"

My two scaly blue hands forcefully shoved the two apart. "Let's not." I said wryly. "If you haven't noticed, it is quite late and I don't want to give the police or the citizens another reason to chew me out. This time for 'skulking around at night.'"

Anko grinned deviously at me, "You just don't want to get yelled at by _Kaa-chan_."

"You're darn right I don't." I said, not taking the bait. "Now let's go home. I can't watch you two while my low chakra makes my mind move like a snail."

' _I'm going to feel like crap tomorrow. I can just feel it.'_

 **\/**

* * *

Like I had predicted, I felt like stabbing the sun in violent ways. The optimistic banging on my bedroom door didn't help things at all. "Get up Hariken! You've got villagers to impress and politicians to appease!"

It was Kaa-chan, of course. Nobody could have said something like that in such a cheery manner. I was the kind of person that snapped awake, fully alert, but I couldn't bring myself to drag myself off of the bed. The kind of morning person that Umi no Dokuhebi Uroko could impossibly be was simply mind-boggling.

"Don' wanna!"

To this, she simply opened the door and, still smiling, bodily picked me up and threw me into the hallway. I landed with an unenthusiastic thud, and was tempted to stay there but that accursed _Witch_ was there in a flash.

"Ah, another bee-autiful morning in the village of Konoha, don't you agree my darling little sunshine?"

Oh Kami above, she _had_ to be doing this on purpose. I have to get out of here!

In my attempt to escape her mothering clutches, I made a new record in how fast it took me to get ready for the Academy. Ran even had a stopwatch when I all but bolted from the house, bedraggled but in full gear. The traitor.

"Something happen?" He queried innocently. I glowered at him, but he only laughed in my face as a response.

' _I swear I'm surrounded by Morning People! Even KAKASHI isn't this bad!'_ I thought as we started walking.

My reprieve came in the form of the barely awake Mitarashi Anko, sluggishly chewing away on a rather sticky-looking ball of dango. "Hey 'Ken."

Now fully and completely awake, a result of my mother scaring the living daylights out of me, my own kindling spirit of happiness couldn't help but surface. I swear, her cheery nature is infectious. Like a bad rash.

Or it could be that sadistic part of Vince that creeped everyone out. My smile was broad and eager to torment, "You know that stuff goes right to your thighs, Anko."

Maybe I was still tired. That's it, a nap is _exactly_ what I need right now.

"Shutup Blue!" She whined. "M'tired okay?"

"You wouldn't be tired if you hadn't fought, ahem, _got destroyed_ by Ran yesterday." I said with an 'I-told-you-so' grin. "I'm just happy I decided to tuck in early to enjoy this…"

' _Curse you, Kaa-chan, for making me use your morning lines.'_

"...bee-autiful morning in the village of Konoha!" Ugh, it felt disgusting just leaving my lips. I think I even cringed. I spat to the side and shivered vigorously. I put a hand on Anko's arm, apologetic for staining her ears with such vile poison. "Sorry about that… I went too far."

She looked at me, confused.

The Aburame ghosting beside me shivered as well, muttering about deja-vu. Apparently he isn't immune to a mother's smothering. He straightened himself up and gave me a look, "None of that now, kiddies. Hokage-sama was nice enough to us so that your house would be close to the Academy. Even so, we should be focusing on waking up…" He grinned evilly.

"And enjoying the morning before another long, boring day at the Academy! Yay for learning! Aren't you two so happy to be labeled as geniuses so that you get to sit in the same spot for _hours_ listening to an instructor tell you things you already know?"

Anko groaned.

The tan building was just up ahead so Ran ruffled our hair excitedly and skipped away whistling merrily, throwing a cackle in there occasionally. The other kids and their parents looked at him strangely before sighing and saying their own goodbyes.

The look of anguish on Anko's face was so genuine I wish I had a camera to take a picture of it. I clapped my hand to her shoulder and smiled, "It's okay Anko, we can spar now that I'm all fixed up. At least we have something to look forward to at the end of the day."

Sitting in a class for a good portion of the day learning about math, reading, writing, memorization and the like, was not what Anko imagined the Academy would be like. She most likely thought that she'd jump right into fighting off a bunch of bad guys. Say, seven men of varying sizes.

As a person who'd already been through (most of) my schooling, I couldn't help but think back to the third day, when the notion of normal school life really started kicking in for Anko. I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. The fact that this was a FREAKING ninja school made sure that I was always interested, despite knowing most of what was taught.

But now, seeing the disheartened face on her, I had to do something. A good friend doesn't leave another friend like this. I gave her a bright smile, "Don't worry about the Academy, Anko. As long as you've got me here, we can make it through faster than you can blink!"

My eyes hardened, but she didn't see, "This place is more important than you think, Anko. We're learning to survive and become something _real_ , somebody who is _important_ and who can be trusted."

She snorted, "Yeah, Important Anko, the village gutter rat and orphan castaway."

"Don't think like that. You're important to me, and we met, what, a couple weeks ago?" I squeezed her shoulder, "You're already like, the most important person in my life other than Kaa-chan."

"Sure, momma's boy."

I noticed one of the chuunin instructors giving me 'the Look,' with his nostrils flared and everything, and I looked around. Anko and I were the only two people left in front of the Academy gate. "C'mon, Anko. Sooner we get this done, the sooner that we get to spar for real."

' _Man, I hope Orochimaru comes back soon. If Anko sees her hero, maybe she'll remember why she's "suffering" through the Academy and she'll make a turn for the better.'_

Anko sighed softly, and grumbled when we went through the gate.

 **\/**

* * *

Uroko watched as Ran and her son walked off to the Academy with that little girl Hariken seemed to have found. Just from observing the way her son acted, she could tell Hariken wasn't a normal child. He acted mature for his age, and he always seemed to know the answers to most all questions that were asked of him.

A couple of days ago, she was approached by one of the instructors in the Academy, a short, red-bearded man by the name of Yubi, and he reported that he saw the same thing in not only her son, but the girl as well. _'What was her name? Cano? No… it was a food name.'_ Uroko absently twirled a strand of hair. The pair of rectangular-rimmed glasses that rested on her nose slid down and she glanced to the stick of dango and the bean paste in front of her. _'Anko! That's what it was.'_

Yes, this… Anko was one thing Uroko was unsure about. Uroko wasn't stupid, she knew full well what happened two weeks ago. Her son had learned the truth of why their clan was hated so much and had defended himself, as well as the girl, in retrospect. Surely there was nothing _wrong_ with that, but the council would have something undoubtedly nasty to say about the issue.

But since then the girl and Hariken have been nigh inseparable. For Kami's sake, she literally sat on the doormat on the first morning of Academy until her son had woken up and got out of the house.

Uroko didn't have to be a trained shinobi to see that something was not right with that girl if she clung so readily to the first person (even a blatantly hated outsider) that paid her attention to her and defended her.

Quickly strapping on a knife and slipping her sandals on, she made her decision. Call it mother's intuition. She'd figure out what is happening to that girl wherever she lived and get to the bottom of this.

Uroko chewed on her lip. Chouza wouldn't like her taking an impromptu day off, especially with the thin ice she and Hariken were on already with the village and the villagers. The rewards of clearing this Anko matter sooner rather than later was worth the risk. Uroko would not have her son endangered in the future because his friend had gotten blackmailed by something from her past.

That would simply not be acceptable.

Screw the consequences. Breaking and entering? Pfft, who cares in the long run, really? This is for strengthening her son's friend, and therefore, the village. Is a village not made up of the individuals? Therefore, helping an individual will help the village. Uroko'd like to see Danzo put a fight up against that logic.

Besides, Uroko had a feeling that the Hokage would approve of what she was about to do, and that gut feeling gave her some unexpected brashness.

Uroko's watch beeped and she winced. Chouza _really_ wasn't going to be happy with her.

 **\/**

* * *

It came as only a small surprise that we would be starting conditioning today. Yubi-sensei had stood up in front of the class and slapped a chart onto the chalkboard detailing our physical training regimen. It wasn't much, but it was a lot more than what I'd been expecting. Some of the kids, (my _classmates_ , I had to remind myself) not including the clan children looked aghast.

They at first thought it was a joke, that they'd have to actually tire themselves out with meaningless work. I knew it was no joke. Then Yubi-sensei started to lead us outside the Academy and into the main street that ran in a straight line almost all the way through the village.

He told us to get going, and to turn around once we reached the end of the street. Under no circumstance should we stop moving.

We stood there like idiots. A vein in the side of his head flared to life and he roared at us to move. The sudden shock of such a loud voice coming from such a small frame jarred us to start running.

And run we did, without a single indication of when we were going to stop. I didn't very much like running as Vince, as his right knee and one of his ankles started to get sore after a while. I won't lie, I felt a bit apprehensive about measuring up to my classmates. But it turns out I had nothing to worry about.

As Hariken, I found that everything was far easier. Probably because of chakra. I guess having a body that has been saturated in the stuff for years is _really_ good for you. Man, I love chakra.

After about fifteen minutes, I noticed that I was very much alone. The thing that tipped me off was the distinct lack of huffing and puffing by the other students and Yubi-sensei's gravelly voice growling at them to stop slowing down. I looked back and noticed that I was at least a hundred yards ahead of the pack.

I have no idea when I might have pulled ahead of the group, but I was ecstatic on the inside. Vince's physical prowess lied pretty much on being able to reach high things and be a pack mule when needed. I looked at my hands and grinned, _'Now, I'm far better! I can run and stick to walls and make shields with nothing but what the Shinigami gave me! No more weakness!'_

My smile widened, and a joyous look entered my eyes, _'I need to have more power! I'll never need to feel weak ever again! I can do this, I can protect everybody in this awful world from the evil that is coming!'_ The people back in my last life just wouldn't understand! I don't think even Kaa-chan would understand how momentous this was. I, Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken, could do this! I could survive!

There was a pattering of feet behind me in the dirt and Yubi-sensei pulled up next to me and, misreading the smile on my face, scowled. "Get off your high horse, Hebi scum, and join the rest of the group. We're done running today, back to the Academy with you." With that, the man turned his back and trotted off to the others.

The muscles in my left hand, my sword hand, twitched. Oh, they'll all know the name of Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken. They'll all know who the person they treated like dirt as a child was when he rose up taller than any one of them and, when they thought all was lost, make them realize how foolish they had been for pushing him down. Their savior would come from a reviled, dishonored family.

Oh the irony of it all.

I reached the rest of the student pack quickly and was elated by how fast my feet had carried me. I'd never had someone to gauge myself, Hariken, against, and I felt no small amount of accomplishment in seeing that they, even the clan kids, looked winded when I could go on for far longer.

I noticed Anko standing off to the side, looking better than the other kids, taking measured breaths to slow her heart rate. Cracking my neck I said, "Well that was fun. When can we go again?"

She looked at me like I'd grown another head. "You _liked_ that? What's wrong with you? I'm fast because I get chased from pranks gone wrong, but you just sped past us all like all that was nothing!"

I scratched my head, "I honestly don't know where it came from either. One minute I was running alongside you, the next, all of you guys were gone." I gave a short bark of laughter, "I thought as a… y'know, _Sea_ Viper, I'd only be fast in the water. I guess not."

Anko shrugged, "All I know is that you've got some serious wheels on you, Blue." She smiled, "I want to be faster than you, though. We're going to wake up early from now on and run until Academy starts in the morning."

I rose a derisive eyebrow, "And who gave you permission to suddenly dictate my life?"

"Me." She said without hesitation. "We are gonna be better than all these guys, and the only way we can do that is if we get more training in."

I smiled with a 'hm!' and said "I like the way you think, Mitarashi Anko. We're going to be the best, you and I, not just better. Then Orochimaru-sama _has_ to notice us."

With the grin on her face, I knew that my mornings were officially running time.

' _Look on the bright side, Hariken. Maybe we'll find Gai out there and I can make another friend.'_

We entered back into the building and Yubi-sensei ordered us to crack open our calligraphy sets. My face twisted into something unpleasant with that order. Calligraphy was a bittersweet subject. I knew a good deal of characters from some of the various scripts, but actually painting them quickly and fluidly sucked on a level that I don't think is possible to explain.

I sighed while the rest of the class smiled.

Oh well, I'd better learn to get good with the brushes, or else writing mission reports and doing paperwork would suck _so much worse_ than what the Sandaime and Tsunade said it did in the anime.

Thank goodness that I wasn't going to be a scribe in this life. Nope, it's a shinobi's life for me.

 **\/**

* * *

The scaled woman watched from a bush as the matron of the dilapidated orphanage Anko lived in slammed the door with a growl, muttering about ding dong ditching kids. When she was sure that the crone had stomped back to her bedroom, Uroko slipped out of the foliage. She crept to the open window near the door, and without a sound, slipped in.

The interior of the orphanage was just as dingy as the outside was, with mildewed wallpaper and dimly lit wall lanterns. As it was early enough in the morning that the children would be away to either the Academy or civilian school, Uroko had no fear of being discovered. The matron was the only other person here anyway, and the crotchety old woman had retreated to her private quarters.

While Uroko crept through the dank, smelly hallway, she read the nametags on the shoddy doors. _'Hizo & Jizo, Kyon, Wataribe… Where's Anko?'_

The scurrying of a mouse drew her attention to a mildewed, rotten door barely hanging on its hinges. The hole the mouse came from was in the bottom of the door. Large enough to fit two hands into, but that's about it.

Uroko's eyes trailed upward from the hole to the nametag and her lips pursed.

Written in faded ink, a child's clumsy scrawl proudly declared that yes, this was Anko's room, and below it hung a small sign that Uroko couldn't help but smile at. 'NO BOYS ALLOWED,' was the sign's warning message.

She cracked her knuckles and placed a hand on the knob, only to narrow her slit blue eyes. Quickly, Uroko did a check around the frame to see for traps. Obviously, this little Academy student was smarter than Uroko thought, as she had rigged several hair triggers for traps. The blue-haired woman couldn't see what exactly the consequences were to tripping them, but they most definitely smelled like pond scum.

A normal kid would never see triggers like the ones Anko had, but a shinobi would. Uroko did a once-over of the door again, not wanting to linger despite being the only person in the hallway. Satisfied with her disabling efforts, she pushed the door open slightly.

Only to ease it back into its previous state with a grimace as a horrific screech emitted from the hinges. Uroko grimaced, and bolted up the wall and onto the darkly lit ceiling. _'There's no way the orphanage matron didn't hear that.'_

Sure enough, she heard the stomping footsteps of the old woman, who was cursing up a blue streak about 'those worthless rats' just quietly enough so the neighbors wouldn't hear.

The matron slammed a solid-looking cane on the wall at the end of the hallway. "Alright!" She croaked in her cracked, worn voice, "I'll give you stupid fiends ten seconds to come out here before I start knocking down doors!"

Uroko almost winced. That woman's voice sounded like a crow cawing, only a little more abrasive.

When nobody responded, her disheveled brows knotted together and she started to count, "One… two… three…"

Just before she reached ten, a mighty wind shook the entire house and Uroko grit her teeth. The window Uroko entered from was still open, and flakes of drywall and dust swirled to life, flying haphazardly into the stale air. Uroko could heard Anko's door screaming open once more, and thanked whichever deity that sent that wind.

With a scowl firmly etched on her face, the woman stalked down the hall and firmly grasped the door handle, wrenching it closed. The knob came off of the door, and the woman looked about ready to spit lava. "I give her a room, I feed her, let her enter the Academy, and this is how that hopeless little wench treats me?! With a broken, run down door!"

The woman's nostrils were flared large enough to fit a pea in, and she let out a breath like a furnace did steam, "No more. I'm not allowing her to freeload any more for any longer. If she's legally old enough to be in the Academy, then she's old enough to live on her own!"

The old orphanage matron stomped to the broken door and planted the wood cane into the mouse hole. With a grunt, the old woman forced the door open, which squealed like a small animal in pain.

Uroko was glad that Anko was more crafty than she'd thought, because there were more traps on the door than she'd accounted for. Rather venomously, Uroko's eyes glittered when the excessive force the old woman used triggered the traps she'd already disarmed.

The first one released a deluge of foul-looking green water right at the woman's face and clothing. A shriek issued from the matron's throat that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and then the fluorescent orange powdered dye poofed almost mockingly onto the woman's obsessively-clean, crisp white blouse.

Like a wounded boar, the orphanage matron stormed into the room, adrenaline making her (rather impressively) shrug off the small wooden mallet that swung down to crash onto her hunched shoulders. Angrily, the woman shucked her sandals off after they'd stuck to the superglue on the floor and continued out of Uroko's field of view.

She heard the old woman grunt and the sound of glass shattering. "There!" She croaked, "Take your damnable jokes and your drawings and your scroll and live on the _streets_ , VERMIN!"

The old woman having a temper tantrum raged in Anko's room for several more minutes before stepping out of the room with a manic look in her eyes.

As if she were to present herself to a court, the matron's demeanor flipped, and she spent some time directly beneath the shinobi on the ceiling raking her mussed hair into a severe bun.

With a mighty huff, the woman turned her back on Anko's room and walked away.

Uroko waited for even longer, and heard the distinctive sound of a bottle being opened and liquid being poured into a glass. A sip and relaxed sigh later, the Sea-Viper woman slid down the wall to slink into the demolished room.

' _Well, I have a feeling that little Hariken is going to be seeing a lot more of Anko-chan now.'_ She thought as she surveyed the wreckage inside.

The woman had clearly picked up everything that wasn't bolted down and threw it out of the window on the opposite wall, leaving Anko's meager possessions to litter the street below like so much trash. Unwanted. Discarded. A few childish drawings fluttered in the wind only to be stepped on by people too busy to care and to be pressed into stinking mud, marred forever.

All that remained inside was a moldy, dangerous-looking old spring mattress resting on a broken frame, a barren dresser without any doors, and a large, shattered mirror. Fragments with miniscule drops of blood littered the floor.

There was not even something that could be used as a light source other than the window.

Uroko closed her eyes, not because she could not bear the sight of such squalor, she had lived in worse conditions for extended periods of time. She'd once been forced to squat in a ditch for days in the pouring rain, in hostile territory with the corpse of a Kirigakure traitor fouling the water.

As a child soldier, younger than Anko, she had everything she ever knew taken away from her by the ruthlessness of Kirigakure, who threw its next generation to die like dogs on the fields of war.

No, Uroko closed her eyes because the old woman resting, nursing a glass of sake so strong she could smell it through all the mold, decay, and several rooms, had left a child, something so precious, to live in the streets, just for her own self-gratification.

It was a miracle she hadn't been murdered in her sleep yet. This kind of thing was more expected in Kiri, where nobody but yourself mattered, but not in Konoha where some of the stereotypes other villages mocked them for were _so true_. People in the village were genuine, whether they loved you or hated you, and a sense of unity between even the men and women that hated each other was downright palpable to Uroko.

The thought of someone being left for abandon was almost unreal in a place that preached and practiced teamwork and unity.

' _But this isn't some dream where everything is sunshine and freaking daisies. This is cutthroat and raw and bloody and dark dealings and eff you because I do what does me best.'_ Uroko stood, more silent than loved ones grimly watching a coffin being lowered into the ground. _'This is life.'_

Uroko opened her eyes, and looked at the pile of Anko's belongings and thought of the child, her child, that that little girl was probably clinging to. _'The only consolation we get for this life is having others to spend it with.'_ Anko had nobody, until now.

She got it now. All the waiting on the doorstep, the training with Hariken, the staying by his side. Hariken was the only person Anko had.

Uroko flashed her fangs and cursed the orphanage matron for all she'd done to damage the children under her care. From everything that Uroko'd seen in this place, the whole place left to rot, the attempts of the Anko to stay happy in obvious misery, she should have expected this in her impulsive investigation.

She had to go, she'd seen enough.

Anko would not spend another night here, that was the only thing the old crone had right. It was time to bring what she'd seen to the Hokage. She knew enough about Hiruzen's 'Will of Fire' philosophy to know that he wouldn't let this matter rest.

She leapt out of the chamber, (it did not deserve the title of 'room') and out onto the street, only stopping to unseal a tarp from a scroll and cover Anko's belongings. The girl deserved some privacy, even though it was just taken from her and shown off to the whole village.

Woe to anyone that stood in the way of the Hokage and Umi no Dokuhebi Uroko.

 **\/**

* * *

An emaciated man, looking similar to a living corpse stood atop the roof of a dilapidated orphanage, watching with dead, heavily-bagged eyes, as the blue-haired woman ran off to see the leader of the village. His head moved slowly, turning to look at the always visible Hokage monument in the distance.

His form flickered, and he became as a shade, drained of all color, before flickering back to his normal deathly pallor. Long, greasy brown hair desperately clung to his skull, falling down all over his head in wispy curls. He pulled back dry lips into a sneer as the woman bounded over the rooftops.

The voice of the man came out like he hadn't had any water for months and lived in a desert, tortured by the sun, "Aberration…" He hissed. He flickered back to the shade momentarily and sent a look of such utter loathing at her. "Unnatural…"

A breeze picked up, and the man's feet dissolved into smoke, flowing in the wind to be swiftly joined by his legs, and eventually, his head. "Wrong… wrong… wrong!"

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: There's another chapter down. Forgive spelling or grammar errors, as I've had no time to comb through my writing in depth lately. As is, I'm uploading this with two hours before I have to leave for camp… again.**

 **Seriously though, if any of you guys or girls are going to family camp weekend, I'll be drawing while sitting on any assorted porch. Saturday I'm not going to be there, if any of you _do_ show up. (I highly doubt it though)**

 **I haven't much else to say, so… until after the next Mokuzai chapter!**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**


	8. Chapter 8: An Attempt was Made

**Chapter 8: An Attempt was Made**

 **AN: Let's get going with the story. Please review if you wish.**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**

"Speech"

 _'Thought'_

 **"Attacks/Jutsu (Translations)"**

 **\/**

* * *

"Can I trust you with this?"

"Absolutely."

"You won't do anything stupid?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Will you keep it a secret at all times?"

I winced.

Uroko's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Hariken." She said, sending unpleasant chills down my spine.

"...But some people already know!" I blurted out. If possible, her icy blue gaze became more menacing.

"Explain, my son. How anyone other than poor Kakashi could possibly know of it."

The floor became very interesting to look at. "Ah. Anko was watching when it happened? And, uh, those guys I stabbed know?"

My mother sighed minutely. Then in a flash of gleaming metal, a shallow cut appeared on both of my biceps. I hissed in pain, despite not wanting to show any outside reaction. "Make sure that your training and movements in the village are hidden so this doesn't happen again. Despite what you may think and what the Hokage says, we are not welcome here. There are people who want to kill us for our clan's participation in the destruction of Uzushiogakure."

I pursed my lips, biting back the retort that was about to leap out. It's been three months after I beat up those guys, and the season has shifted from a stiflingly hot summer to a cool autumn. Just now Kaa-chan decided I was worthy to get my tanto back after all this time.

Of course not after a couple of 'friendly' incisions to remind me that, no, the tanto was not a toy, and yes, I needed to be more careful in revealing my abilities to people. Who knows what one-eyed creepers are watching my every move? Well, there's that one Danzo guy, but you don't seriously think he's going to become a major world power?

Okay, maybe I'm still a little angry about Danzo having me tracked like a bloodhound, but who wouldn't be? Any ninja with a brain would be angry that their secrets are being wormed out by an unknown entity that was a supposed 'ally.'

Especially when one knows what is going to happen in the future… to a limited extent.

I'm pretty sure that my undocumented existence has already messed something up on the Naruto Universe. I mean, because Zetsu was chasing ME, Orochimaru managed to stab and kill him. Somehow, his death was a result of me being in the Naruto universe. Something that should have never happened in the first place. Nobody should even know Zetsu exists except Madara!

And, _Her_ , of course. But _She_ isn't supposed to make an appearance until years from now when the Fourth Shinobi World War kicks off.

Funny, all Vince had to worry about was school.

Now I have to think about every action that I take in order to keep the ripples I make on the down-low. This makes Danzo's constant surveillance even more grating on my nerves.

Kaa-chan was idly spinning my very sharp weapon between her fingers, watching my face. "I don't think you've learned your lesson, Hariken." She brandished the short blade, "This," She said, "will kill someone, and I know you don't _quite_ get that yet."

Over her black-rimmed glasses, her eyes bored into my skull. "You've demonstrated that you can use force, and deadly force at that. But now you need to know how to not use that force. That," she held a finger out in front of her face, "is a mark of a true warrior. Kindness and honor are treasured values."

She saw the blank, half-lidded gaze on my face and sighed, "Yes, Hariken. I know. We are ninja, and we are supposed to be amoral machines in service to a village, but we both know that's a lie. Just look at Jiraiya-san. Despite his… difficulties, he is a great example of kindness to others. Before he left for Ame I saw him giving out his lunch to some street children."

I snorted. I knew Jiraiya, he'd never change from his ways. "Was there a pretty lady around? If there was, then he wasn't doing it out of the kindness of his heart."

Kaa-chan's nostrils flared, "No, Hariken. Jiraiya-san saw the starving children huddled up in an alley while he was eating a bento, and decided that they deserved to have something when all they knew was nothing. There was nobody there to watch it except me, who was just passing by to go to the Hokage's office!" She poked me in the ribs sharply, "In order to help your only friend, who it seems only I care about!"

My eyes narrowed at her words.

"That's not true!" I protested, unable to keep the hurt out of my voice, "You and Ran and Anko are the only people I have left because Kakashi disappeared! Of course I care about you, who do you think I am? The last time I checked you three were still everything to me!"

We stared at each other for a minute until a pained groan caught our attention. "Ugh. Uroko, Hariken… mind keeping it down? My head is killing me."

"No!" Kaa-chan snapped. "Hariken needs to learn the danger of his equipment, and your fever-induced migraines aren't helping."

The Aburame screwed his eyes shut under his sunglasses and massaged his forehead. "It's not my fault I caught whatever Anko has. She's got the same thing going on, but does she have to keep going to the Academy? _Noo_ , she gets to stay inside and lay in bed all day." He leveled a jealous look at us (or I assumed he did by his expression) "You two are lucky that you didn't get it." He turned his head. "Jerks." He mumbled.

Kaa-chan sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ran, you know just as well as I do that Anko-chan can't move very much before she starts throwing up everywhere. Her temperature has skyrocketed." She shook her head. "We aren't the lucky ones Ran, you are, because you got spared from having to deal with symptoms as bad as hers. So man up and deal with it."

A clock on the wall chimed, _'Six O'clock!'_

I started sweating despite myself. An obsession to to be on time was an unfortunate trait to have carried down from Vince, but with Danzo pulling the all the strings in my life to try and make me miserable, it was a good one. I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, meeting Ran's eyes behind the heavy shades. "Ran, we've got to go. Yubi-sensei is gonna kill me! You know how strict he is."

Ran looked out the window to see sunlight streaming through it in searing yellow rays. He groaned and pushed his hitai-ate down his forehead to try and minimize the light entering his eyes. "Ugh. Yeah, I had a couple missions with Yubi, he's a slave driver. Have I mentioned that before?"

I growled, "Only every time we're late. Just like _now_."

"Get your stuff then. I want to be out in that light as little as possible."

He hadn't finished his statement before I was up the stairs and ducking into my room. With practiced ease, I grabbed everything I'd need. Equipment pouch, holsters, textbook scrolls, and the like. When Everything was ready, I quietly made my way over to the closed door which Anko's room was behind. She'd caught a nasty flu a couple days ago, and it didn't show any signs of letting up. Ran was the only other person living in the house that caught it, and he had been constantly whining about it since.

Kaa-chan was right. He really did need to man up. His complaining is starting to get annoying. But I had no grounds to stand on. Vince was just as bad whenever he got something as little as the sniffles.

As gently as I could, I knocked on her door, and still heard Anko's pained groan from the other side in response. While Ran had a sensitivity to light, Anko also needed dead silence to stave off the 'head-splitting migraines'. "Anko." I said just above a whisper. "I'm leaving for Academy. I'll be back later with your homework."

I heard her let moan in anguish, this time from the prospect of having to do any homework. I just rolled my eyes. "Hurry up and get well Anko. It's not the same there without having you around to make noise." I paused for a moment, "It's kinda creepy, actually."

Kaa-chan yelled up the stairs for me to hurry up, causing both sick people to make noises of protest in response to her volume. My sadistic side returning, I yelled back down to her that I'd be right there.

Within seconds, I'd taken my place next to Ran, who cuffed the back of my head for being loud. "C'mon." He sighed, looking at the bright windows again.

Just as we were about to leave, Kaa-chan put a hand on my shoulder. I turned and she looked at me with a chagrined face. Finally, she sighed. "I know that I'm going to regret this eventually." She muttered. "Here, take it before I change my mind." She said, offering something to me.

In her hand was my tanto. I looked at her, confused, "Really? You want me to have this back?"

She bared her teeth, "Doesn't mean that I'm happy about it. I know how much you have been practicing with knives. All of your katas are built around holding a weapon in either one of your hands." She looked away for a second, before zeroing back on me. "To be honest, keeping this away from you any longer would only hurt your training."

I reached for the handle tentatively, and she pulled it away, "But don't think for one second that I'm going to buy you a sword. You can buy your own when you start getting missions, so you can put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

I blinked. _'That's an expression here too? Huh. Weird.'_

Kaa-chan looked away when I took the short sword and tucked it safely in its sheath in my sleeve. "Just… be okay, okay?" Her posture was all stiff, and she wrung her hands slightly.

I smiled at her warmly and wrapped my arms around her midsection in a hug. She returned my embrace and held me tight against her. "Just… don't think I'm too harsh on you, okay? I'm trying my best, and it'll be so much easier when you get out of the Academy. I'll be allowed to use chakra then."

I hadn't noticed it before, but living as a civilian really put a toll on Kaa-chan. I could see a kind of tiredness in the way she carried herself. It spoke of how much she longed to do something more than just domesticated work at the house and the Akimichi restaurants she worked at. "I'm sorry." I said into her shirt, "I'll get out of the Academy as fast as I can. Me and Anko'll have a jounin sensei before you know it." _'And for Anko's sake, I hope it's Orochimaru.'_

Kaa-chan smiled softly and kissed the crown of my head, "I hope whoever you two get doesn't jump off of a bridge in frustration after seeing how much of a pain you two are." She chuckled. "Go. I'll be thinking about you when I'm at work."

I grinned and waved at her as I shut the door, Ran already out the door with both hands over his face. The poor man wouldn't dare expose his eyes, even with the sunglasses all Aburame seemed to have attached to their faces.

"Bye Kaa-chan! I'll see you later!"

 **\/**

* * *

I palmed my face in exasperation. My protector has been leading me aimlessly through the village for the past thirty minutes, which was really grating on my patience. "Ran, I know you're doing this blind, _literally,_ but haven't you gone this route enough times to know where we're going?"

"I have my kikaichu out feeling where I am, thank you very much. Aburame don't get lost. I've got everything under control." He retorted, nearly walking into a wall.

A shopkeeper opened up his windows and scowled at us through them as we passed by. Ran, of course, didn't notice. We passed by a path to the Academy without a second glance and I sent a searing glare at the back of Ran's head. At this point, I'm sure that he was doing this on purpose. "Ran…" I growled. "We just went by another road to the Academy."

"Did we?" He said without a single care. "Well that's just a shame. And here I thought we were almost there." I took two fistfuls of hair and took a deep breath. The worst part was, was that Ran knew how touchy I was about being on time.

Ran hummed to no one, "Ho hum. Whatever are we going to do?" A vein in my forehead twitched. "I surely do hope that Yubi-san can find the power in his big heart to forgive such a _bad_ student like our tardy, tardy, Hariken."

I grit my teeth and turned away from Ran. As I stalked down the street, I thought. _'Forget him. I'm going. I have a place to be, and I should have been there half an hour ago!'_ My guardian was so clueless and sickly that he continued down the street without noticing my escape.

I stalked down the street, muttering angrily and heading toward the Academy. I was not looking forward to seeing Yubi-sensei. The last kid that came in late got strung up by his toes until he passed out from the blood rushing to his head. He was an Inuzuka too, so clan children were clearly not favored in his class.

A big hand with sharp nails landed on my shoulder. I jumped slightly and whirled around to see a rather animalistic man with massive hair and two kanabo strapped to his back. There were two blood red markings on his cheeks. _'Speaking of the Inuzuka…'_

He peered at me with narrowed eyes. "So this is the kid Danzo's pitching a fit over." His voice was husky and growling, like he had wrecked vocal cords. He shrugged uncaringly and grabbed me by the back of the shirt, lifting me effortlessly while I struggled to get free. "You seem like a runt to me. No way you can be a threat to the village."

My eyes darted around, looking for the familiar buzz cut of my Aburame keeper. _'Dangit Ran! The one time I actually need you around, and you're off wandering the streets!'_ I then noticed a gigantic beetle nestled in one of my sleeves and breathed a minute sigh of relief.

The Inuzuka shook me. "Stop squirming." He ordered. I did so, reluctantly. _'It's okay. Ran knows where I am. I'm still safe, so I'd better do what this guy asks.'_

Surprisingly, the Inuzuka turned down a side alley and started to carry me in a direction I was familiar with. Not too long after he changed directions, we emerged from the alley next to an open air shop with curtained stools. "Ichiraku Ramen? What are we doing here?"

The man grunted again and forced me into a seat. "Eating. Two bowls of beef for me, Teuchi, bloody with extra salt." He waved his hand, "Get the kid whatever."

I looked at a steaming bowl that got placed in front of me. Full of spicy chicken and with less noodles, just how I liked it. I frowned, _'I don't go here that often, do I?'_

"But I already ate–"

"Shut up and eat."

I snapped my chopsticks and started eating, knowing an order when I heard one. It really was good food, though.

The Inuzuka sniffed the air slightly and frowned after smelling what I was eating. "Never eat spicy food kid. It dulls your nose, and poisons are easy to mask in the spice. Good for assassinating rich civilians who can afford the stuff. They think that it _must_ be good because it's expensive.." He scowled, "I'm paying for this too, so enjoy it."

He fingered one of the massive war clubs on his back, still eating with the other hand. "Stealth and poison never was my thing though. It's a lot easier sometimes to just bash someone's skull in." The Inuzuka snorted. "That's why they fear me on the battlefield. I was born to fight. No need to be sneaky when there's nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Unlike me, other ninja can be revered for being unseen, just look at 'Null Man' Mu."

A thought struck me, and before I could hold my tongue, it spilled out. "If you're so feared then how don't I know who you are?" After I said it, I knew that it would be taken badly. I mentally smacked my young mind. _'Moron!'_

The man looked at me flatly and I flushed in embarrassment. He stretched his arms back then pulled out a couple of coins to toss on the counter. "Teuchi. Water." He grunted. A glass was placed in front of him and he nodded his thanks. He sighed and pushed the little remaining ramen around in his bowl. I hadn't even noticed that he was almost done with both bowls. "Inuzuka Hakkuru, clan head."

' _A clan head? Well that's just great. What's he doing here?'_ I frowned and went back to my noodles, trying to piece together his reason to be here. The man 'hmph'd and went back to systematically destroying his poor ramen.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have more important things to do than watch a kid who shouldn't even be out here?" I asked.

Hakkuru shrugged. "Not really. The clan pretty much runs itself." His eyes narrowed. "But the reason I'm here with you is not from boredom. Your Aburame friend went to the hospital. He's looking for a doctor he can trust."

I groaned, "Seriously? It's just a fever! He'll get over it!"

Hakkuru shook his head, tossing his mountain of hair around. "Has anyone else with regular contact with him gotten sick as well? I know you haven't, because you aren't curled up on the floor. He's investigating the mystery sickness with someone he can trust." He tossed his chopsticks down, finished. "I owed him a favor." He gave a toothy grin at my face of surprise. "Shocked? I was too when he called it in and told me to watch some brat."

He got up and cracked his back. With a sigh, he said, "Now I've got to keep an eye on you 'til Ran comes back. And he don't want you going to the Academy today."

"Why?"

He grunted, "'Til whatever this is all about is done, he wants to make sure you're not out of a trusted person's sight. Now come on. The two of us are going to take a walk."

I got up frowning and followed Hakkuru, who looked behind him with an unimpressed face. "Don't look so unhappy. I hate silence, so you're going to have to hear me go on and on about training techniques and fighting."

He humphed. "Really stuff an Academy student should know, but they don't teach any of this to you kids."

I followed Hakkuru more excitedly, eager to hear what he had to share. _'The Academy can wait. I've got someone who is willing to teach me things that are better than the stuff from the Academy.'_

He grunted and cracked his knuckles, heading to a training area. "You know how to fight dirty? Sometimes, it's the best way to stay alive. See, my team was on a mission in Iwa no Kuni, and we got surrounded…"

 **\/**

* * *

Ran staggered up to the hospital doors and fell against the wall, breathing heavily. He knew there was something up, and his sudden exhaustion only proved it. This sickness was suspicious ever since he first caught it, because his kikaichu usually kept him healthy. But once his hive started dying in droves to try and get rid of the disease, he sent them to stay at the house for protection. It hurt to lie to such an honest kid like Hariken, but he really had no idea where he was going that morning.

Of course, there were a select few of his hive that stayed on Uroko-san and Hariken-san. He needed to know their location. If he didn't then what kind of guardian was he?

Ran shook his head to keep himself focused. There was no time for stray thoughts. With the world pitching beneath him, the bugless Aburame made staggering steps to the double doors marking the entrance of the hospital.

He burst through the doors and looked around. The nurses didn't blink an eye at this behavior, sudden entrances by shinobi being more common than one would think. Ran scanned the crowd for people he might recognize. His eyes landed on a pretty brunette in the back, but he shook his head. He might like Kira-chan, but she was just a nurse, not an emergency medic like he was looking for.

A young black-haired girl ran from one of the side rooms, getting Ran's attention. "Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" She stopped in front of a very imposing blonde-haired woman, panting slightly. "Higemura-san, he–"

"Died." The woman said with a sigh. "Just like I knew he would. Those burns were too severe. Had I been here just a day earlier, he would have lived." Tsunade rubbed the blue diamond symbol on her forehead wearily, "When will Sensei get that specialized iryo-nin section of the hospital commissioned? I've been asking for it for years."

The girl at her side shrugged, "I dunno Tsunade-sama. Hokage-sama usually listens eventually."

Ran snapped out the daze he was in, _'Wait, Tsunade?'_ His entire body sagged in relief. Finally some good news.

If there was one person he could trust, it would be a member of the Hokage's team. They were some of the strongest ninja to come from Konoha in a long time, and the medic Tsunade was quickly becoming legendary in her field.

He slumped forward towards the woman, intent on approaching her, but his way was blocked by an aid. "Sorry sir, but Tsunade is in the middle of some important work. Come back later." She said without even looking up from her clipboard.

Ran growled and tried to shove her to the side, but he was already too weak to do that. "Listen, lady. I've been either poisoned or drugged, and whatever it is, it's coming to a head. At first it could be confused with a cold, but then my kikaichu started dying until I called them off. I have almost none of my hive left!"

The woman blinked and looked up. "You're an Aburame. There hasn't been a case of an Aburame getting sick for years. You guys ever get sick."

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, not too hard, but enough to rattle her. "And that's why I need to see Tsunade, _now_. I'm not the only person hit by this, there's a little girl back at the house I live in who has the same symptoms, but worse."

"Now, that seems like a problem." A voice sighed. "And I just got back home, too."

The aid paled dramatically and stepped out of the way stammering, "T-tsunade-sama!"

The Shodaime's granddaughter beckoned Ran forward and pulled him over a shoulder when he almost collapsed. "Let's get you on a bed so I can figure what's wrong with you." She turned to the girl at her side, "Shizune, make sure nobody disturbs me." The girl nodded.

Tsunade opened a door into a stark white room that almost hurt Ran's eyes as much as the sun. The hospital smell most most definitely did not help his migraine at all. Shizune stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her. Ran could see her silhouette against the frosted glass, standing to ward off anyone who came too close.

Tsunade rubbed her temples, "Tell me what's wrong." She ordered.

Ran sat back, "I think they're targeting Hariken."

Tsunade stood up with a sigh and opened to the door muttering under her breath. "Shizune!" She called. "This is now an emergency. Get Orochimaru."

"There is no need, I could hear your conversation from all the way down the hall." A voice hissed from next to the black-haired girl. The snake Sannin stepped in the room and focused his amber eyes on Ran. "You really need to be more watchful, Tsunade-hime. Now, tell me what is going on with such an… _interesting_ child."

 **\/**

* * *

Orochimaru stood at the foot of a bed with a little girl in it. She was curled up as tightly as she could get, groaning in pain and clutching her head.

He knew the poison used on both the girl and the Aburame the moment he heard that it was killing the Aburame's kikaichu. It amused him that Tsunade, for being such a prodigious medic, could not recognize a poison that was used to almost completely destroy an entire clan back when the Shodaime was Hokage. Seeing a member of the Kamizuru clan is very rare now, and a living one, even more so.

The girl stirred, apparently noticing Orochimaru's presence. He lifted a single black eyebrow. No Academy student should be able to detect him. The fact that this girl could was… intriguing. She was talented, like he was. He could see it.

Orochimaru took out a scalpel and make the slightest of incisions on one of the girl's fingers, just enough to draw blood. He took the instrument up to his mouth to taste the poison he already knew was there. He smiled and spat the blood into a piece of cloth he brought with him. Being right all the time never got boring.

Taking slow, steady movements, the pale man picked up the child and brought her to the open door of her room.

He shifted her weight onto one arm so he could perform the necessary hand sign for a shunshin to the hospital. Before he channeled his chakra, Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle.

Now he had found _two_ interesting children. He would have to get them into his direct supervision quickly so that the influence from the village isn't too severe.

Will of Fire, what nonsense.

Orochimaru disappeared into a cloud of smoke with a thoughtful grin. _'Perhaps apprenticeship? Danzo hasn't gotten rid of that practice yet.'_

 **\/**

* * *

The Inuzuka clan head was regaling me with stories of some of the missions he said he was allowed to tell when a woman in a black bodysuit and jounin vest landed next to him. She was panting heavily and clutching at a bleeding right arm. Hakkuru's eyes hardened and he put a hand on one of the massive war clubs on his back. "Identify yourself!" He barked.

The woman looked at Hakkuru with betrayal in her eyes but he didn't give an inch. Instead, he unhooked one of his weapons and brandished it menacingly. "A member of my clan wouldn't turn tail and scurry back to me when threatened. So..." He stepped forward, "Who. Are. You?"

The woman glared fiercely at the clan head, "I'm your bastard child! Inuzuka Tsume, _Hakkuru-sama._ " She spat. "I was there when your wife died. You were broken, and only your closest friend and myself could put you back together!"

The man's eyes softened slightly, and he grit his teeth as if in pain, but when he spoke, there was no emotion, "What have you come here for, Tsume? I know you hate me, so why?"

Tsume crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "Unzari's dead. He was found in the courtyard, murdered."

Hakkuru reeled back as if struck. I looked on in astonishment. Whoever this 'Unzari' person is, he was important to the Inuzuka clan head.

With utter rage, Hakkuru tore the two kanabo from his back and slammed them into the ground with a wordless roar. I could tell that I was completely forgotten when he turned to his daughter, "Whoever did this is dead! You hear me Tsume? I will find whoever killed my son and tear him to pieces with my bare hands!" Hakkuru was panting heavily, working himself into a rage.

A leaf got picked up in the wind and brushed up under my nose, causing me to sneeze. Hakkuru whirled in my direction and snarled at me. He stalked up to me and jabbed a finger into my chest harshly, "You have no place here, outsider. This is clan business! Go away!" He snarled.

I cringed away from him and he shunshinned away. Tsume frowned and looked at me, noticing my pained face. "Don't take it too hard. He loves Unzari with all of his heart. I knew he'd react this way." She looked away, "He considered Unzari his only child. There was no place for the bastard of the family, even though it was his fault I was born." She sighed and put her hands in the shunshin sign, "I hope he doesn't take this out on you. He's had enough loss in his life now with Sakumo-san."

She disappeared in a poof of smoke, and I was suddenly left very alone in the park. ' _Sakumo? What does the 'White Fang' have to do with anything?'_

It was then that I realized how chilly the morning was. Hakkuru was right about this not being my business. In the Naruto story, Inuzuka Hakkuru and Inuzuka Unzari didn't exist, but Tsume did. And there's no way that she just sprang up out of nowhere. I knew enough about human biology to know _that_.

So I had no place to interfere here, really. Whatever happens here, sets up the course of events that Tsume would assume the clan head position and the other two would not be heard of by the time Naruto comes around.

Then a thought sprung up in my head. _'What if I did change it? Hakkuru seems like a nice enough guy, and from what he's told me, he's strong enough to be like a one-man army. Konoha might need that in the future.'_

That breeze picked up again and tossed some leaves about. I looked around, expecting to see some elderly people milling about, or some graduated genin doing some menial chores with a jounin sensei breathing down their necks, but there was nothing. So when the wind whisked through the empty park, the chill was far more… ominous. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. _'Something isn't right here, but I don't know what it is.'_

I narrowed my eyes in concentration. Whenever I was away from Ran, I was never alone. There was always someone else there, be it Kakashi, Anko, or Kaa-chan. Heck, even those guys that attacked me when I first had my 'run into' with Anko were still technically 'with me'.

Now? There wasn't a soul in sight. A perfect opportunity for something to happen to a hated individual. _'It's how I'd do it. Secluded park, early morning, no witnesses. Perfect for dropping out of the trees to take out a target and vanish.'_

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply of the sweet aroma accompanying a lack of industrial pollution. Not even the squirrels and migrating birds dared move from their roosts. The outside world mirrored my infrared vision with its blazing autumnal colors. _'The calm before…'_

A figure ghosted behind me and jabbed a senbon needle into the back of my neck, angled upward to get at all the fun bits in the cranial cavity. My body burst into smoke and the person found themselves holding a log up by a senbon. _'The storm.'_

Now, any rational 'hero' would appear in a smoke cloud and with a super cool costume change, but that wasn't going to happen. As a matter of fact, I was booking it out of there.

Besides, I don't fancy myself as any 'hero.' Nope, I'm just trying to survive and let the story go its course. There's cool side characters, too. Sometimes people love the side characters and inflate them to be larger than life. I'm fine with that.

I couldn't run away far enough before my assailant found me again. In fact, it wasn't very far at all. This person was good. Er… compared to an Academy Student, that is. I guess a more skilled shinobi wouldn't have let me run at all.

A gloved hand grabbed my shoulder and the figure planted its feet solidly into the dirt to wrench me backwards. As I was airborne, I could finally get a look at who was fighting me. The person was short, with a long black coat obscuring many identifying features. I couldn't even tell if it was a guy or a girl. But one thing was certain, the person was just a kid.

I was almost to the ground, so I put a hand beneath me and sprang up off the dirt. The person wasted no time and was back on me before I got the chance to recover. They tried to sweep my legs from beneath me, almost succeeding, but I quickly jumped over the person's foot. They did succeed in getting a good punch on my face when I was distracted, though.

That was gonna bruise. I hadn't noticed the metal studs on the person's knuckles before, but I definitely did now.

I took the hit in stride and was forced on the defensive as the person clothed in black came in close for a furious melee. I dodged, ducked and deflected the blows as well as I could until I could see an opening. But the thing was, this person wasn't giving me one to capitalize on. So I decided to create one.

After leaning to the side to watch a gloved fist streak past my face I latched onto the arm and pulled the person forward. When the form was off-balance, I kicked the kid in the rib cage, knocking it to the ground where it bounced up as if nothing happened. I placed my foot down and regretted it when a jolt of pain ran through my ankle. I grunted and lifted the foot, my left one, back into the air.

' _How did that happen? Armor?'_ I glanced at the kid, coming back to engage me again. There was no way to tell if they were wearing body armor because of the thick coat. I grimaced and steeled myself against the pain to get back into a fighting stance. _'I've dealt with worse before.'_ I thought, secretly thanking all the people who've repeatedly pounded me into the dirt.

I stepped back to avoid a lightning-fast kick aimed at my midsection and threw one of my few shuriken while he/she was still extended. I hadn't wanted to use them because of how much the stores drove up the prices, just like with Naruto, but I had to test something. It was deflected, just as I thought it would and I had to contort wildly to avoid my opponent's retaliation in the form of a hail of needles.

When the barrage was over the person was upon me again. I grunted when I was forced to block a particularly heavy hit. With a wince, I pushed my way past my assailant's defenses and shoved the kid away with a healthy application of chakra to my arms. My elbows cracked when the kid flew away and I grimaced, rubbing my arms as the kid recovered far too quickly to be considered normal. _'What's with this guy?'_

There was a brief moment of respite while the kid tumbled away, which I used to dig in my equipment pouch for something, _anything_. I felt that my pouch was almost empty and my stomach dropped. _'Great. Today we were going over weapon maintenance in the Academy.'_ I pulled out the contents of the pouch. _'And all I've got is sword oil and some ninja wire.'_ I grimaced, seeing the kid up and rushing me once more. _'At least I've got my tanto and my kiri kunai.'_

The kid planted a foot and threw something at me. I dodged to the side and caught a glimpse of what he threw at me. "A rock?" I had to take a second glance because I just couldn't believe that a ninja would use such a blunt, primitive tactic.

Turning my head proved to be a big mistake.

I heard the pattering of the kid's feet and looked too late to see him aiming a drop kick right at my stomach. I could do nothing but watch as the kid's feet connected with my abdomen. All of my air left my lungs with a pained wheeze and I careened backwards onto the ground.

As I struggled in vain to get my air back, the figure stalked to my downed form, doing precise handsigns as if they were unfamiliar with the technique they were about to use. Finally the person reached my side and their hands started glowing green with healing chakra. There were two techniques I knew of that used healing chakra directly over one's hands, and I don't think that my mystery assailant planned to heal my wounds.

The person kneeled down and poised their chakra scalpel above my chest, ready to strike and end it. Then the person spoke and drew back its arm, "Well, that's that…"

' _Huh. It's a guy after all.'_

My breath chose that moment to return to my lungs and I instantly slammed my hands together, placing them into a sign I knew all too well. The kid tried to drive his blade home but he ended up getting thrown off of me by a solid blue barrier of pure chakra. I rolled up onto my feet and took in a deep breath, glaring at the kid who just tried to murder me in cold blood. "I know this is an assassination attempt, but a rock?! Really? Ugh!" I sighed and took out my tanto, "Let's just get this over with."

The boy's response was to drop his head in shame and lift a hand in the air. He then clenched his fist, eliciting three additional figures, all dressed in black and masked, to seemingly appear from thin air. Unlike the kid, these newcomers were all adult-sized, and I had no delusions that I would survive this alone.

The kid and one of the people dashed forward while the other two stayed back to do handsigns. All I could do to fend them off was slide my tanto back and put my hands into the slug sign. A large blade of wind and a deadly-looking fireball splashed against my chakra barrier which sprang up just in time before the two melee enemies closed in.

To my surprise and extreme chagrin, the adult enemy started to send a series of blindingly fast finger pokes at my barrier. The juuken was unmistakable and I could see, and feel, my chakra barrier cracking within seconds. My barrier may be strong and able to stand up to a katon jutsu that would have killed even the legendary Sannin, but the chakra piercing juuken made quick work of it as if it were made of nothing but glass.

Deciding to not find out what happens when my chakra projection is forcefully broken, I dropped it, feeling the drain weigh down on me like a boulder.

With no hesitation whatsoever, the Hyuuga–nobody else could possibly use the juuken and not be one– poked my shoulders and knees quickly. Pain blossomed like fiery roses and I collapsed onto the ground. Once I was down, the Hyuuga calmly poked at the rest of my limbs until I could no longer feel my extremities. It's was a strange sensation, because forcefully getting one's tenketsu closed was supposed to hurt like crazy.

Just when I thought he (I'm assuming it's a he for my sanity) would finish it, the Hyuuga stepped back and gestured to the kid. The other two approached as well, forming a kind of human blockade around me.

The kid hesitantly approached my helpless form and knelt down. He placed a hand on my chest to steady me, I knew that it was the curtain call for me.

I watched the kid's empty porcelain mask's expression and tried to think of good things, but I was frozen, remembering another mask, one with regret painted in blood. _'Life for a life. I guess I deserved it in a way.'_

For a good five minutes, the kid just knelt there and stared into my eyes. I saw his muscles trembling terribly as his body refused to let him finish the job. I closed my eyes, mustering all of my negative feelings for a last gaze. Then a trickle of amusement blossomed in my head despite the grim outlook, _'Well this is a familiar situation, isn't it? Me looking into the eyes of an innocent as they witness a death. This time though…'_ I paused, _'There isn't someone to make the decision for him. He's got to do it all himself.'_

That thought gave me the power to open my eyes and glare at the boy behind the mask. Daring him to do it. The little boy in the rain puddle couldn't even stand the sight of me, and I suspect this kid in front of me was forced into this as much as the other one was.

The wind shifted, I could feel it on my face.

Having had enough of the waiting around, the Hyuuga shoved the shoulder of the boy crouched over me. With much hesitation, he did the necessary handsigns for his chakra scalpel. When his hand started glowing green he poised it above my chest. His arms were shaking even worse now, and I could feel the sweat from the hand holding me down through my shirt.

He was scared, legitimately scared of what he had to do. I don't blame him.

Just then my arms and legs started registering two very different sensations. One was pain, so bad that tears sprang to my eyes involuntarily. The other was far more comforting, and that was the warm glow of chakra trickling into my coils. I would have laughed and leapt for joy if I were able to. The chakra projection that Kaa-chan had me do! The massive regeneration was kicking in and reopening my chakra coils! If I could buy myself some more time then I should be able to get back up and fight.

Death? I fear no death, because I'm not dying ever again. I'm not going down without a fight because I'm not going down at all. _'Let's see. A tanto, a small tube of weapons oil, a Kiri kunai, and a roll of wire. I can do this.'_

I grit my teeth and sent the boy the most hateful look I could. "You can't do it, can you?" I asked, to which his arms only shook more. "There isn't a killing bone in your body. You aren't the person who does this, because this work is meant for the monsters, the ones who can stab a man in the back and only think of when they'll kill next." My eyes sharpened, if possible. "And you are not a killer. No, you're using chakra scalpels, killers don't use those. Medics do."

"Shut up…"

If I was shocked by his response, I didn't show it. "There is one thing medics do, and that's save people. You signed up for this life to help, not to hurt."

My words had the opposite effect that I'd intended. The boy leaned in closer and his shaking became less noticeable. "My grandfather is dead because of you." He whispered, so softly and urgently as if he were imparting dangerous information. "I'm glad that all the Umi no Dokuhebi are dead, because that means you won't ever hurt anyone again."

I bared my teeth, "We aren't dead. There are still two of us left." My smile became slightly unhinged and my eyes were wild. An act… I think.

I leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "And you will never be rid of my face! You will see it in your dreams forever. I know this, because I have killed before. And her face lingers in my nightmares like a phantom. You are doomed already."

A foot crashed into my shoulder and shoved me down. The Hyuuga stood over me imperiously and gripped the kid's arm. "Do this, or I will kill you! You have your orders." The Hyuuga, apparently the leader of this operation, hissed dangerously.

My fingers twitched, and I could feel chakra flowing normally within me. With my fingers of my right hand, I discreetly dug into my equipment pouch for the wire. The kid made a serious mistake in assuming I was down for the count.

I waited until he drew his hand back for the final blow and swiftly jabbed his elbow. This broke the kid's concentration and he collapsed on me. Thankfully he was light.

Working quickly, I looped the wire around the Hyuuga's legs and pulled it tight. He fell to the ground and I got up to face the other two.

My 'victory' as it was, was short-lived, because the kid wasn't as done as I thought he was. An arm tangled between my legs and pulled. I joined the Hyuuga on the ground, who quickly got up and savagely closed my tenketsu. This time however, he was none too gentle about it and I felt every single juuken strike like a red-hot poker stabbing my body repeatedly. _'I guess he was being gentle last time.'_ I thought as my limbs throbbed.

I could almost see the venomous gaze the Hyuuga fixed on me. He bent down and hoisted me up so I faced him. "How did you open your tenketsu?!" He demanded.

I grinned, "A magician never reveals his secrets." I said cheekily. The Hyuuga shoved me down roughly to the ground in disgust, where the kid was already waiting with his darn chakra scalpel.

I was about to make another smart-alek comment when the boy decided that he'd had enough.

The iridescent blade of chakra dropped right over my heart and my entire body wrenched violently, liquid agony coursing through my veins. Nothing existed but the foreign chakra piercing my heart and the feeling of an explosion in my chest. I like to imagine I made a Braveheart-like roar of defiance, but all that escaped me was a choked gasp.

All too quickly my vision started to darken, and I felt for all my bravado, I still fell like a miserable whelp.

Then I remembered something important. Something so completely important that I somehow managed to forget. The smiling face of my mother, Anko's cheerful laughter, Ran's mischievous grin, Kakashi's eye-smiles, _Kokai_ , Eric, Stephanie, Gerald.

The physical pain was blacked out completely by an anguish deep in my soul knowing that I had failed them all once more. I couldn't protect them. I didn't make a change like I wanted. Nobody would mourn a character that never existed.

The mask of the kid simply stared down at me and I could see my reflection in the polished surface. There was no hearing, only sight left now, and that was quickly fading. Why he wasn't moving away from me, I understood completely. This must have been his first kill. They say that it's the hardest, and that it never gets any easier. I guess I would know, wouldn't I?

Suddenly a flash of brilliant light shone above me, framing the boy's hood in a red and yellow corona. I couldn't see anything, but there was no reason for anyone to be making more fire.

My vision ceased altogether, and there was nothing but my infrared sight left. Seeing the red shape in front of me made something inside of me emerge in a tide of rage and defiance.

Something… primal, and one thing was for certain. It wasn't going to lay down so easily. It surged within me, like a living, moving being. Whatever this thing was rose up inside of me, flaring it's power like an angry hiss. It was a mighty serpent, unwilling to back down even when there was no chance of winning.

Then all the feelings I'd been experiencing settled in my head. Rage, determination, regret, defiance, stubbornness, and love. They all coalesced into two solid points, and I felt a new pressure unlike anything I'd ever felt before build up in my mouth.

' _I will never submit!'_ I roared, newfound pain erupting in my gums.

Then everything came back. All five senses. I could hear the crackling of fire, smell the sweetness of the air mixed with the stench of sweat, taste blood mingled with something else, feel the agony in my chest and the sharpness of newly-emerged fangs.

I could see a black-haired, chalk-skinned man with purple markings under his eyes and a sword in his hands, cutting down the Hyuuga, the last remaining man of the three still standing up. I watched as his top half slid down slowly and could hear it thud against the ground.

There was still the face of the boy's mask hovering over me, now looking at his surroundings. I could read his body language. It told me that there was only one option left, and that was to complete the mission.

His hand raised once more, the glowing of his scalpel visible even in the morning light.

The serpent inside, the crafty one that refused to bow down and submit to any other, knew there was one chance. My hands darted forward and wrenched the boy's head to the side. With a feral lunge, I plunged my fangs into his neck, feeling myself pump him full of the venom stored within me. When the final drop coursed from my fangs and into his neck, I felt all the strength I suddenly gained leave me. My job was complete.

The boy reeled back and clutched at his neck with a scream that I will remember until the day I die. About seven seconds later, he was dead.

The face of Orochimaru appeared over me, with blood not his marring his features and eyes filled with interest. His smiling lips moved but I heard nothing.

My eyelids started to close and a cold darkness seeped in the corners of my eyes.

There was the strangest sensation of floating, and then my body jarred violently into another place, a far away place. It was too much for me, and my eyes rolled back into my head, the darkness consuming everything.

 **\/**

* * *

After Orochimaru had dropped off Anko in his teammate's care, he arrived at the place Ran indicated was the place he told the Inuzuka clan head to take Hariken. To his surprise, and chagrin, it was the ramen stand that Jiraiya frequented when they were younger. He asked the owner where his two ninja customers had headed, and thanked him politely when the man simply pointed in a direction.

With a scowl, Orochimaru leapt to the rooftops to get a higher point of view and once he was out of sight, bit his finger and did five handsigns to perform a summoning. When the snake large enough to ride appeared, he held out a scrap of cloth taken from Hariken's room which it took time in smelling. Displeased with how long it took the serpent to get the scent, he jumped to stand on its head. "Find him. Quickly." The Sannin ordered.

With a bob of its head, the reptile sped off the roof. The impact it made from slamming into the ground caused a few windows to rattle, but Orochimaru stood fast on his mount. The giant snake twisted and wound its way through the alleys and streets of Konohagakure speedily.

There was much at stake right now. The least of which being the life of the Umi no Dokuhebi boy that his former team and he picked up on their patrol. If there was an infiltration of the village for an assassination attempt, then Konoha's security is not as tight as it was thought to be. And if the village could be infiltrated, then who knows what else could be compromised.

Suddenly the summoner stopped his snake cold in the middle of a street. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, seeing where the mount had led him. In front of him stood the gates exiting out of the village. Hakkuru wasn't foolish enough to take an Academy student out of the village where Hariken couldn't protect himself. The war may be boiling down, but it still was being waged across the continent, so straying from the village without a backup was extremely dangerous.

Unless you were someone as capable as Orochimaru, of course.

The Sannin tapped on the snake's head with a sandal to get its attention. "Smell for something like a dog along with the other scent." He ordered. The animal was one of Orochimaru's more intelligent summons, able to understand but unable to speak. That didn't excuse it from the summoner's wrath if it performed less than what Orochimaru expected from it. Calmly, the serpent dipped its head down and flicked its forked tongue out to taste the air for a dog-man, like its summoner had said.

Orochimaru watched as his snake fruitlessly searched for a scent that must not be there judging by how long it took for the summon to find it. The snake shook its head to indicate that there was no Inuzuka around and the pale shinobi scowled. "Very well. You have failed me, summon." The snake shrunk back slightly. "Do not do so again. Remind your brethren know that I am a merciful summoner, unlike your last master." He watched as the snake dispelled and closed his amber eyes in disgust. Whoever did this had stolen some cloth from the boy's room and used it to lay a false trail for potential pursuers. _'It must be a team of people, then.'_

He placed his hands in a single handsign and cleaved his impressive chakra pool in two. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. (Shadow Clone Jutsu)"** A perfect duplicate of the man appeared next to him and Orochimaru grasped the clone's arm. "You can never rely on others." He muttered, heaving the clone into the air to get a bird's eye view. After the clone got a good look at the surroundings, it dispersed, returning his chakra.

Orochimaru's head snapped up and he looked in the direction of a rather isolated park on the entire other side of Konoha. There were jutsu being used over there, and it was very frowned upon to use jutsu so early in the morning and in a public place. That is what the training grounds were for, after all. Separate from the village enough to not bother the civilians but close enough to be included in the village.

With a scowl etched on his face, the snake Sannin bolted off in that direction. At this rate, it would take him about ten minutes to reach the boy and the Inuzuka. He leapt onto a rooftop to take one of the most common modes of transportation for shinobi in Konoha. Luckily no Genin were out and about or the trip would take an unnecessary amount of time.

Time, being rather short at the moment.

Once Orochimaru had arrived to hear about that _intriguing_ boy, his Aburame guardian told Orochimaru of how he suspected a poisoning attempt, which didn't effect the Umi no Dokuhebi. The fool didn't know of the clan's natural immunity to poison, so Orochimaru could give him that.

His kikaichu were dying, and that removed the protective sensory net from the equation, making it easier for the Umi no Dokehebi's assassins to isolate, observe, and eliminate them. The snake Sannin would be concerned for the woman, but he fought alongside her and she performed well even with a handicap of very poor vision. Yes, Uroko could handle herself. That, Orochimaru knew.

Her son, Hariken on the other hand, though _curiously_ talented was still an Academy student and a child, physically at least. Since he and Tsunade had only recently returned to the village, Orochimaru had not had an opportunity to gather information on the boy. Something about the boy just piqued his curiosity. Why, for one, would a boy from Mizu no Kuni know about the title of Sannin being bestowed on the former Team Hiruzen months before the actual event that caused them to earn the title?

Intriguing, indeed. And one of the main reasons that Orochimaru was so interested in the child. If there was a child that knew the future...

No. Orochimaru had heard of no technique that could do such a thing, and the Umi no Dokuhebi clan possessed no such traits through its entire history. There was a reason that he was gone from the village for so long, and the libraries in Kiri were very willing to hand over information on the weaknesses and history of such a hated clan. Coercion also worked wonders, though doing so was all too easy for a shinobi of Orochimaru's caliber, to the point where performing the act became distasteful. He preferred different methods of acquiring information, and a few informants were always helpful.

The snake Sannin stopped his musing when the rooftops ended and a peaceful park lay before him. It was quite picturesque, but Orochimaru did not have eyes for the foliage when there was a _curiosity_ nearby.

With quick and silent steps, the Sannin ghosted across the park and listened for any movements in the silence. Most other people would be more concerned about making no noise themselves, but most people weren't Orochimaru. He slunk around without a single sound. Not even the grass held the imprint of his passing. He was completely undetectable other than his chakra signature, which was large enough that suppressing it would still give enough of a trace to seem like a genin.

His ears pricked with the sound of tapping and whipping of cloth. There was a thud and Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. The sounds were nearby.

Moving more quickly now, the Sannin headed to the source of the sound and came upon the sight of Hariken on the ground struggling for breath with blood leaking over his lips.

Analyzing the situation, Orochimaru saw four figures in total. A child kneeling over Hariken and seemingly in shock, there was a man with his arms folded over his chest and angry body language, and two others, a man and a woman, standing guard.

They never had a chance against someone like Orochimaru, who's had decades of experience and who served in one of the most renowned teams to come from Konoha. The Sannin opened his mouth wide and angled his chin skyward. From his mouth came a snake, and from that snake's mouth, the hilt of a katana emerged. Making no noise, the man withdrew his legendary blade and held it at the ready.

With a sudden shunshin, the group of assassins found themselves with another person in their midst. Immediately, one of the bodyguards sent a fireball his way while the other started doing signs for a fuuton jutsu.

The snake man dodged around the conflagration gracefully and dashed at the katon user so quickly it seemed like Orochimaru disappeared and reappeared in front of the man. With the flash of steel, the katon user found himself without a head. The Sannin turned his gaze to his next prey, who had finished her signs and was puffing her chest up with air.

She never had the chance to exhale before she found the kusanagi no tsurugi lodged in her chest. He ripped it out and felt a sadistic pleasure when the air hissed out of the holes in her chest and back.

Now there was only one left besides the child. This one fared slightly better than the other two, but his fate was ultimately the same. He rushed up and ducked one of Orochimaru's lazy swings. The Sannin recognized his stance from a mile away and let the Hyuuga approach. If he was so arrogant to think the juuken would give him an advantage, then he was wrong. His eyes would be useful, though.

The Hyuuga tried to duck under Orochimaru's guard, but the man simply stepped back. Faster than the eye could follow, the kusanagi was swung and the Hyuuga found himself lacking the fingers on his right hand.

Most annoyingly, the man clutched at his stumps and started yelling, so Orochimaru put the pest out of his misery. When his top half fell to the ground, Orochimaru turned to take care of the child still kneeling by Hariken. The child brought his scalpel back up to stab Hariken again and Orochimaru prepared to throw his sword through the child's skull.

Only, he didn't need to.

Hariken grabbed the boy's head and Orochimaru could see two white fangs in his mouth for a split second before he clamped onto the boy's neck. For several seconds they simply sat there until Hariken fell back into the dirt, exhausted.

The boy fell backwards screaming like his soul was being torn asunder and writhing on the ground. Merely seconds later, the child was dead.

The snake Sannin approached Hariken and knelt down, noticing his slit blue eyes were still open. He chuckled, "My, you are an interesting one, aren't you?"

The boy's eyes closed and Orochimaru picked him up. Just like with Anko, the Sannin put his hands in the shunshin sign, and disappeared into a cloud of smoke into the hospital where his mother and Ran were waiting.

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I know there isn't much plot, but the attempt does contribute to the plot in a way. To be honest, this chapter was supposed to be way longer.**

 **For now, I'll be saying goodbye while I write out another chapter of Mokuzai, try not to cry, I promise that Hariken won't die. So keep your attitudes spry, and keep an eye on Orochimaru, who is ever so sly.**

 **Rhyming aside. I want you to think about the Thanksgiving season, as it is only two days before the holiday itself by the time I post this chapter. And I want to tell you something I'm thankful for, which (mushily enough) is that I even have people reading and enjoying my fics in the first place. Just today I got a favorite/follow/watch alert for Mokuzai from someone and it made my day, honestly.**

 **Thanks for being here for me, and I appreciate you all. Review on the chapter if you like, and remember that I'm always thinking of you guys and girls, even when it seems like I'm dragging my feet to get the next chapter out.**

 **Ja ne**

 **Lancer-of-the-Sun**


	9. Chapter 9: Weakness

**Chapter 9: Weakness**

 **AN: Not much, just a disclaimer and a brief shoutout.**

 **Any OCs that I make belong to me, other than that, this is all Kishimoto's.**

 **To GodOfPixies: Yes! You are the kind of person that I need giving reviews with solid logic and genuine ways of improving my fics. And to be honest, caps shouting was a mistake, and yes, fuses are rather antiquated but who says they still aren't used? I didn't think I seriously had to explain the terrorists' actions (not angry, just puzzled). Their greatest weapon is fear, and making a public showing that they're privy to government secrets such as a government hacker in hiding is something for the people to fear. If they have the government's secrets, then the people would make the assumption that there's so much more that the terrorists know, and possibly begin to panic. I'll rectify the caps shouting in all of my subsequent chapters.**

 **I appreciate all reviews, even flaming because that too can guide my mind as to where the story would go, so don't think that your voice goes unheard. Thank you.**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

 **"Attack (Translation!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

Funny thing, darkness. It is warm, comforting even. But at the same time, darkness is cold and isolating. Without sight, one cannot know if they are alone and being alone, sometimes, is frightening.

When I awoke alone and in the dark, there was an indescribable feeling of sadness. Solitude is a thing that I cherish greatly, but having others around is better than any comfort dark silence can give.

It hurt. It all hurt so much.

The pain in my chest, throbbing with every heartbeat gave me a grim reminder that I'd fallen too easily. The fire coursing through my limbs scorning me for not fighting, for being too weak.

I was alive, but at what cost?

I breathed out, and let my entire being still to show the world whatever they wanted to see. For now, in the lonely darkness, I could let my masks down. My stress of hiding everything I've ever known from the people around me, my worry of the future, my discomfort in letting other get close, my pain, both physical and emotional. On display for none to see.

This is where I lay, breathing in a familiar scent of dust and wood, being crushed by this darkness that presses down on me from above.

My eyes closed in an attempt to drive the darkness away with infrared lights. This room was cold, and the muted blues and greens reflected this.

But the room was not as empty as I'd previously thought. Slowly, I turned my head to see the red form of a person next to me, slumped over in a bedside chair, asleep. With a weakness that I vehemently cursed, I reached my hand out and touched the person. Yes, I was tired and very in much pain, but I couldn't stand this darkness by myself for any longer.

They startled, immediately awake with a gasp. I laid there, just enjoying the sound of another human while they regained their bearings. With a single deep breath, the form stood and chuckled. "I guess I can't call you fangless any more, ne Hariken?"

I gave a pained huff. "That was a nice disappearing act you pulled, Kakashi. How long was it? Thirteen, fourteen weeks?" I said to the nearly empty room.

He turned away from me and headed to the door, "Something like that." He said.

"I could blame this all on you, y'know." I stated. That stopped him right at the door. I continued, "But I won't. Your avoidance of my family and I had nothing to do with us. It was personal, wasn't it? I actually have you to thank by bringing Anko into my life, even if it wasn't intended."

My jaw clenched painfully, and I didn't know why I was saying this, but I was. "I know loneliness more than you think, Kakashi. Isolation, darkness, feeling completely lost in your life with nothing but bitterness and cynicism… I may not look it, but I have experienced these emotional things, and have survived only with the help of my friends and family." I said, talking about a time long ago, in a different life. "You walking away from me like how you did… it hurt. And I was almost condemned to live back how I was before…"

' _Back before when I was Vince… Nothing was real back then. It was all false happiness and fake friendships. Not now. I have Kaa-chan, Anko, and Ran. That's more real than I've ever felt..'_

He turned the knob on the door and was about to step out, but I stopped him again. "But just because I have Anko now, doesn't mean you aren't part of my life. Kaa-chan misses you, and I've never found a sparring partner as good as you, Kakashi. In fact, I almost got killed because I wasn't good enough, nobody wants to train me. Anko's just an Academy student, Ran isn't supposed to train us for political reasons, and Kaa-chan isn't allowed to use chakra or train herself."

I waved my hand dismissively in the dark room, "But that isn't the point here. Don't leave us because of circumstance, we won't abandon you. Please don't do this to yourself. You deserve better than loneliness."

Kakashi stood there in the doorway for a few seconds before turning without an indication of whether he even heard what I had to say.

"There are people that want to see you." He said quietly, almost inaudibly.

The door shut with a snap and I rested my head back with a sigh. _'Why was Kakashi here anyway? Shouldn't he be somewhere else at this point in the story?'_

 **\/**

* * *

I spent a good time throbbing in pain and thinking about Kakashi's sudden appearance. The room was still dark, but a slit of light beneath the door showed up a half an hour ago, so there had to be something illuminating outside the dusty room. Something was so familiar about this place. It certainly wasn't a hospital, because those places have constant movement, noise, and light. Not here. It was dark, dusty and smelled stale. For the life of me, I couldn't remember what place this was without a source of light.

There was the sound of muffled voices outside the door, getting closer and closer until the door to the room crashed open.

Light streamed into my darkness, and I couldn't help but be knocked out of my dark reverie. My own metaphor of being crushed under the power of darkness got singlehandedly destroyed by the actions of others. Though darkness was powerful and solitary, light was much more loving.

One small person came running in and two larger people entered at a much more sedate, yet still hurried pace. "Hariken!" The smaller shouted as she jumped up onto the bed I was on. I sat up and braced for impact but luckily, my one female friend wasn't aiming to body slam me. Anko threw her arms around my chest and hugged me, holding just tight enough to cause pain to lance through my torso like a gunshot. I barely choked back a shout and moved my lead-filled arms around her as well.

She was uncomfortably warm, like a person still in the throes of a fever. "H-Hey… shouldn't you be in bed? You're sick as a dog Anko."

She released me and punched my arm with a glare, "You have no place to talk Hariken! You showed up almost dead and had to get fixed up! I was already at the hospital, so we all saw you get carried in!"

My eyes widened, "You were already there? It's that bad?" I scooted over on the bed and pushed her down next to me, "You should be getting rest! Not worrying about me." I said. "You could die! I'm serious!" I persisted as she started laughing.

"I'm not sick, Blue, I was poisoned."

"That's not any better!" I retorted.

A man coughed and I swiveled around to look at Ran, the suspect. "You too! You shouldn't be here when you're like this."

He smiled and crossed his arms. "We're fine, Hariken. Right now, you're the only one who has a reason to be in here recovering."

Another set of arms enveloped my purple-haired friend and I, squishing us together uncomfortably. "Oh Hariken, I was so worried."

"Kaa-chan? You're here too?"

I could feel her cheeks lifting on my scalp as she smiled, "I'm your mother, I'll always be there for you."

I finally noticed the concerned atmosphere. _'It's like something is wrong…'_ My eyes narrowed, "How long was I out?"

Ran pushed up his sleeve to check his watch, "Ehh… only three days."

I groaned like the world was ending and let my head drop onto Anko's shoulder in defeat, "I missed my weekend!"

Anko laughed, "Yeah, but I wasn't there so you didn't miss much." She grinned widely and looked very excited, "You'll never believe what happened though! Orochimaru came to the house and took me to the hospital! Isn't that awesome?"

I lifted my head to look at her quizzically, "Orochimaru? What was he doing at our house? Last time I saw him was in the park where he fought off some assassins and took me here." I kneaded my knuckles into my temples and looked at Kaa-chan, "Does anyone know what's really going on?"

Kaa-chan shook her head and pointed to Ran, "It was Ran that was the messenger here. I just got to work when I was summoned by Tsunade's cute little assistant to come to the hospital." She frowned, "The Akimichi are just going to have to live with it if I decide to leave and look after my son." I smiled. It says a lot about Kaa-chan if she doesn't hesitate to leave her workplace for me. _For me_ , of all people! In a world like this, where you're more likely to be left in a gutter than to actually be raised. People like her are incredible.

Ran walked up and looked into my eyes with his sunglasses, "What happened to Hakkuru? He was supposed to be watching over you." He shook his head, "No, tell me everything that happened the moment you left me behind." He ordered.

Kaa-chan's gaze snapped to me. "You left Ran behind!?"

I winced and tried to look smaller, "No! I just… y'know… was late." I said lamely. "Ran was just wandering around Konoha and not going to the Academy. I wanted to get there before Yubi-sensei ripped me a new one or Danzo sent in the Uchiha Police to drag me there. So I… uh, took a side street and ditched Ran?" Kaa-chan glared at me with much intensity, so I tried to defuse the situation, "But I had the Inuzuka clan head with me, so I was safe!"

My mother sighed and clenched a fist, "Hariken. We are _never_ safe. Ever!" She glared at me again, "Even if we are protected by the Rikudo Sennin himself and hidden away in a metal bunker miles beneath the earth!" She hissed. "Never assume safety as long as you are still alive!"

There was a silence in the room, which I finally recognized as the same room that Shikaku and Yoshino took me every day for my chakra expulsion. _'That means we are in that unused building in the Nara compound. That's all the way on the other side of the village from where I was attacked.'_

Kaa-chan cleared her throat loudly, and I snapped back to attention. "We _will_ talk about this later Hariken. Do not think you can get away from what I will do to you."

' _Great.'_

I slid back so I was leaning against the head of the small bed and crossed my arms. The medic who treated me, I assume Tsunade from what Kaa-chan had said earlier, left me devoid of clothing besides my pants and some slightly bloodied bandages around my chest. _'I'm getting real tired of waking up without clothes.'_ I grumped. With a sigh, I tried to remember the events in order to fill everyone in on my little adventure.

"Hakkuru caught me in a side alley and dragged me to Ichiraku Ramen once I uh, ditched Ran." I said, glancing nervously at the two adults. "We ate and then he said he had to keep watch over me while Ran went to the hospital. Inuzuka-san wasn't happy about how the food the ramen guy gave me because it dulls our noses." I scratched my head, "I didn't know who he was, and I think he was annoyed that I didn't know because he took me for a walk to that park on the other side of Konoha and told me a bunch of stuff the Academy doesn't teach. He also told me stories of some of the missions he was on where he only made it out because of the things he told me about."

My face fell, "Then his daughter showed up and told him his son got murdered. He just went berserk and left me with Tsume. She told me something about Hakkuru still being sad about Hatake-san's death. Unzari getting killed must've pushed him off the edge."

"At least Tsume stayed, right?" Ran asked with a pained expression, his forehead creasing. I shook my head and he put a palm to his forehead wearily. "That's just perfect. I don't think I'll like what's coming but, keep telling us what happened."

I shook my head. "No, you won't like it. I was completely alone, in an isolated place, and it was early enough that the park was empty." With a deep breath, I decided to get on with it. "When Tsume left, the park was too quiet to not be disturbed. No animals or birds making noise, so I knew there was something going on. So I wasn't surprised when a young shinobi tried to stab me from behind. I used a kawarimi to escape." I frowned and looked at each of their faces. Ran's face was tightly drawn, Kaa-chan still had her eyes narrowed at me unhappily, and Anko was eagerly waiting for me to get on with the story. "I tried to get out of there and to safety, but the person was too fast and caught up to me. He had this weird body armor, so nothing I did made any difference."

"C'mon! What about Orochimaru? When does he come in?" I gave Anko a look that she brushed off, and kept talking.

"Not until the very end. As I was saying, none of my taijutsu could hurt him, but just as I was about to pull out my tanto he distracted me with a rock." I said. The unimpressed looks that I got made me rub my arms sheepishly. "Yeah. I know. But what if he was a doton user? Then I would have to keep an eye on it just in case." This, of course was a lie. I didn't think about his possible elemental affinity whatsoever, I just wanted to be a smart-alek and mock him out for throwing a rock. The three others in the room, knowing my personality, saw right through my 'reason.'

Mistakes, I must learn from them!

Kaa-chan laughed humorlessly, her eyes usually a light cobalt now shining with a dangerously icy light. "Oh, Hariken. Our _talk_ is going to be such a wonderful learning experience for you. Such a wonderful, painful, learning experience. Emotions are needed for every shinobi to be effective, but _attitude?_ That's fatal." She put a finger under my chin and pushed my head upwards roughly, "And I'm going to find the most _grueling_ person to train you after you get home from the Academy. I would do it myself, but then the council will come down on us like a flock of starving vultures for breaking our 'deal.'" Her finger went to my cheek to caress it gently. "You are lucky I'm not in charge of your training."

I shuddered in horror and Anko snickered. Kaa-chan turned on her with a sickly sweet smile "Don't be so quick to laugh, Anko-chan. You'll be right there next to him after all." Kaa-chan patted Anko's suddenly pale cheek and backed off to lean against the wall of the rather small room with arms crossed. "By all means Hariken, continue."

I gulped and laughed nervously. "Well, uh. While I was looking away, the assassin drop kicked me, knocking my air out. He then got on top of me and made this weird green chakra knife." A chakra scalpel, but I wasn't about to let them know that I knew about jutsu that I'd never seen before in this life. "Just when he was about to stab me, I got my air back and pushed him off with a chakra expulsion barrier." Kaa-chan looked extremely satisfied with herself. She was still mad at me, but the fact was that she was the one who taught me how to expel my chakra despite the fact that I should have, by all means, be dead from it. The question of how I survived it, was something that nobody could answer. "Then he called for reinforcements."

Kaa-chan's self-satisfied smirk dropped into a scowl and Ran groaned. "This is all my fault." He said. "I should have brought Hariken to the hospital with me."

My eyes narrowed, "I don't want your pity or remorse!" I snapped, "What's done is done. All we can do about it is make sure it never happens again. Now let me finish my damn story so I can recover and train my ass off for being an idiot and letting myself slack!" I growled. I took a deep calming breath. When I felt myself ready, I opened my eyes again. "Alright. After he called for reinforcements, I knew I needed help to get out of this situation. There was no way to survive without anyone else. My outlook became even worse when I discovered that this guy's finger pokes can tear my expulsion barrier to shreds in seconds."

Ran's eyebrows jumped, "Finger pokes? The Hyuuga were involved in this attack?" He cursed bitterly, "This is not good. If we come out in public about this, the chances of making an enemy of one of the major clans of Konoha is extremely high. We can only let a select few know about this attack."

I sighed. "It was only one finger-poking guy. The others were a katon user and a fuuton user. They probably figured they didn't need any more people to eliminate a six-year-old Academy student." I gestured to my bandaged chest, "Well, they were right in a way I guess. If not for Orochimaru's ex machina then I would be dead."

Anko's face scrunched up, "Ecksu Mockeena?" She asked, trying to replicate my strange word.

I paled a little bit at my english-japanese slip-up and stammered nervously, "Ah, n-nothing! Orochimaru appeared at the last moment like it was divine intervention, that's all." She had an 'oh I get it' face and nodded that she understood. Kaa-chan and Ran shared a glance. "A-anyway, the finger-poke guy and the first assassin came in close while the other two stayed back and sent their jutsu against my barrier." I smiled in satisfaction, "They couldn't get past it, but when the poker started hitting it, my barrier only held for a few strikes before it started cracking. I was forced to drop it or lose a lot more chakra than what I burned off in sustaining my barrier. So far my chakra expulsion barrier hasn't been broken, but I don't want to find out what happens when it is."

The damaging of the translucent blue barrier was a sensation that I'd not easily forget. The sound was like a frozen river cracking under the heavy burden of a marching army. It didn't hurt when my chakra barrier got juuken'd, but with every fracture in the seamless sphere, my fatigue rose according to how bad the cracks were.

"The moment the barrier dropped, the Hyuuga poked my arms and legs, which made them go all numb. I couldn't move at all." I knew exactly what happened, but how do you explain to your mother and the person in charge of watching you that you know more than you're supposed to? My tenketsu were closed forcefully, and it hurt like crazy. "The person knelt over me again and made his chakra knife, but he was looking really shaky." I looked away from everyone's prying eyes, "It… it felt just like when I was sitting on the riverbank next to K-kama… But this time, it was opposite. I was at his mercy, so I did what she couldn't do. I talked and stalled." The room was silent as I, for the first time, admitted my first kill to anyone but Kaa-chan.

I smiled, but it was more of an attempt to show anything but what I was really feeling. It failed miserably and looked more like a pained grimace than anything else. "Then the feeling started coming back to my arms and legs, and I could feel my chakra again." Again, Kaa-chan and Ran exchanged a look. "There wasn't any way I could get out except by doing a surprise attack, so I knocked the kid off and tripped the Hyuuga guy with some wire from my pouch. I didn't get very far at all before I was caught. The Hyuuga guy poked my arms and legs again, and it hurt really badly this time. He threw me on the ground, and the chakra knife kid stabbed me in the heart." I chuckled wryly, "I guess he was sick of me talking. I got in his head pretty well."

I rubbed my chest right over the spot the scalpel pierced. Tsunade did an amazing job, much better than the iryo-nin that healed my shoulder. The wound was tender now, but I'm not willing to stress myself to put her job to the test. I value my ongoing life more than thirty minutes of training which could lead to a fatal chronic cardiac condition. I shuddered when I remembered how the scalpel felt jamming into my heart. "It hurt. I've never felt anything that hurt so bad." Physically, at least. "I thought that I wouldn't make it. I know what happens to people that get stabbed in the heart, they don't survive. At the time, I wasn't any different." I looked down and screwed my eyes shut. "I… I gave up… I failed everything that I stood for. Dying and giving up meant that I couldn't protect any of you, or be there for you when you needed me."

That feeling of unfaltering determination reared its head again, as if berating me for my weak thoughts. My eyes hardened and I grit my teeth in anger. "I remembered something about each of you. I felt like there was nothing left for me. But just before my vision faded completely I saw a large fireball behind the assassin. That's when I think Orochimaru came. When I couldn't see any more, my thermal vision kicked in, and something inside of me _stirred_." My hands grabbed fistfulls of the sheet I was sitting on, "It– _I_ will never back down. All the emotions I felt, it was like they concentrated in my mouth."

I bared my teeth, and two thin ivory fangs descended over my canines. Kaa-chan gasped and Anko leaned in closer, "Cool!" She whispered, reaching out a finger to touch them while Ran stood with his arms crossed and an unreadable expression.

I leaned back and retracted the instruments of death. "Yeah. Life or death, right Kaa-chan? I felt so _angry_ , and then my senses came back for one last moment of clarity. I saw Orochimaru cut down the Hyuuga, and the boy was reaching back to stab me again." My eyes hardened, "I didn't think about what I did next. I chose life, and instinct drove my head up to sink my fangs in his neck. He didn't even last ten seconds once he fell off of me."

"I remember being so tired, so much in pain, just watching as Orochimaru approached to pick me up. Then I think he shunshinned away with me. I couldn't handle the stress and blacked out." I didn't die though, the Shinigami would not be happy if that was the case. I shrugged. "Then I woke up with Kakashi sleeping in that chair over there." I gestured with my chin and the adults looked surprised.

"Kakashi was here?" Ran asked. "Other than taking missions, nobody has seen him anywhere. He's almost never in the village any more."

"Well, he was here because I woke him up and I talked with, -er, _at_ him." I looked at the chair he'd been collapsed in, "He must've been really tired, because I've never seen him sleep without at least three traps around him."

The room was silent as we all thought about recent events. I chest twitched and I coughed into a hand, looking around, "What happens now, Ran? You're the Konoha shinobi here. Do we report this to the Hokage?" I asked.

The Aburame watcher looked pensive with his stubbly chin resting in his palm and looking down. After a minute, he sighed gustily. "This needs to be taken to the Hokage. A member of a noble clan such as the Hyuuga assaulting a refugee without probable cause is not a matter to be brushed aside, especially now that there are no surviving witnesses but Orochimaru-san and you, Hariken. As neither you nor your mother are official Konoha citizens, you may be in even bigger danger because you are not under the same protections as the rest of us." He grimaced and folded his arms. "You should definitely keep your tanto on you at all times from now on. If word gets out that you're hurt, some people might want to act on their personal vendettas against your clan."

Kaa-chan sighed and kneaded her forehead with her fingers, "Hariken, you need to be hidden until the Hokage is told what happened, okay? I have to get in touch with Chouza… It's been three days since I last came in, and he doesn't know why." She looked to the Aburame with the buzz cut, "Ran. The sooner the Hokage knows about what's happened, the better. See if you can find Orochimaru-san, too. Sarutobi-sama would probably want to get as much information as possible. I know I would."

My mother turned to me, and I smiled gently at her, which she brushed off. "Hariken. Stay here with Anko. This building is in the Nara compound, but that doesn't mean you're safe. I'm going to meet Ran at the Hokage's office after I touch base with Chouza, meeting be damned. You need somebody to properly train you to protect yourself from these kinds of threats, and mine and the Academy's lessons aren't going to cut it any more. This is already the second time you have been attacked in Konohagakure. With the way things are going, you going untrained will end up more as a liability than anything else."

A spike of irritation flashed through my head. As much as I wanted to deny it, there was no way I could argue with what Kaa-chan was saying. I caught a fully-trained Kiri shinobi off guard and still got a beat down, got lucky against seven untrained, drunk men past their prime, and barely survived an assassination attempt against a _medic_. There was no denying the fact that this was just the beginning, and I needed to get stronger to protect myself.

I needed to protect myself first before I could even think about protecting others. The thought pained me, because despite all my training, I still couldn't defend myself.

I waved goodbye to Ran and Kaa-chan and sat patiently until the door closed, leaving just myself and Anko.

With a growl, I punched the headrest, "Come on Anko, help me find some books or something." She stiffened noticeably. "I need to practice chakra control or I might just go insane from boredom." I looked around the room, not seeing anything with leaves. "It's not like I can do the leaf exercise without leaves, so I'll just have to find something else to stick to me with chakra."

She sighed in relief, "I thought you were actually going to read them for a sec. Sure, I'll help you look, but don't hurt yourself. You _did_ just wake up from getting stabbed."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes nurse Anko-chan." She snickered and slugged me in the arm.

"Shut up and get to it, or I won't help you at all."

I barked out a laugh, "Yeah, right. You're way worse than I am without anything to do. I could leave you in an empty room and you'd be clawing at the walls within three minutes to get out."

Her only response was to throw a newly-found book at my head as I laughed.

 **\/**

* * *

Ran watched as the Hokage sighed wearily and picked up his pipe for some stress relief. "You did your duty well by telling me about this attack within my village, Ran." Hiruzen said. The dim lighting of the usually bright and welcoming room setting the serious nature of this discussion. "I had a bad feeling when you came in, and I'm afraid that this new information complicates matters. Thank Kami that you didn't bring this up in front of the council. The knowledge of the Hyuuga shinobi's involvement would cause an uproar. I've been working on them for years now, and the sudden emergence of a rogue Hyuuga would jeopardize all of my efforts." He took a pull of his pipe, "From what you have told me, you, young Hariken, and Anko-chan were victims of this attack. We cannot be too hasty in throwing judgment around, but yet this matter needs to be investigated. Who else knows?"

Ran was at attention, "You were the only person I could trust with this information, Hokage-sama. The only people that know are the people living in the Umi no Dokuhebi's house, Tsunade's assistant, and your former team." The man stilled, then asked his own question. "But as Hariken said earlier, what happens now? We could stay put and recover, but that will only last for so long before these attackers make another attempt." He said. In truth, Ran was worried. With most of his hive back at the Aburame compound, he didn't have access to any of his techniques, all he had was acceptable taijutsu and some meager elemental jutsu. The main reason he was promoted to chuunin was his impressive prowess with his kikaichu. "If we don't move fast enough we leave ourselves open to attack, and my hive is still recovering from the poisoning at the Aburame compound."

The Hokage nodded, "I see." He took the broad hat he inherited from Senju Tobirama from his head and set it on a small stand made for it. "Have you made any contact with my former students since the attack?"

"Only Tsunade, Hokage-sama, for additional treatment. Orochimaru has seemingly disappeared."

The man behind the old wooden desk humphed, "I know where he is, then. I ha-"

The door opened and both shinobi reached for hidden weapons reflexively. They relaxed when Uroko stepped into the room.

He folded his arms, unimpressed. "The only reason that you aren't arrested or dead right now is because I ordered my ANBU out of the room so I could talk about the attack on your son." His eyes pierced her. "Do not think that you can command respect and loyalty like in your old village. You may have been a big deal in Kiri, being a genin under the Mizukage, but here you are a refugee. Remember that." He stated coldly. Uroko's expression hardened at the reminder of the man that killed almost all of her family.

With his threat delivered, he became more genial, smiling and exhaling smoke. "But when your son graduates, I would be more than glad to accept you into Konoha's shinobi forces. You are quite the fighter from what I observed." He knit his fingers and relaxed into his chair, looking the epitome of contentment when in reality, he was still deeply considering what to do. "I can guess why you are here Uroko-chan, but I can still be surprised for my age." He smiled, "Try me."

"I want somebody to train Hariken properly." She said. Hiruzen nodded, as if expecting this. Uroko saw this as a go-ahead and continued, "This isn't the first time he was attacked, and this isn't the first time he was forced into the hospital for his injuries." She said, running a hand through her hair in a nervous gesture. "I don't want to have to worry about his survival every time he goes outside. I want to be able to trust that he can take care of himself, and not come back nearly dead." She tried to look in the Hokage's eyes, but his gaze was directed at his hat. "You are a father, aren't you? Don't you feel this way when you leave your son every day?"

The aging man stared at his desk, his posture less lax, and more pensive.

"And I can't do anything about it, because I've been forced to not do anything or get thrown out! All I can do is watch as my son lays there in the bed, barely breathing with his face screwed up in pain!" Uroko looked away, blinking rapidly and taking shuddering breaths. "I… this is… I can't do anything but sit back and watch and it's killing me."

Hiruzen looked up at the woman trying to keep it together. She wasn't broken, not by a long shot, but this was maybe her first time in unloading her feelings on someone else. The Third Hokage sighed, "How do you feel about moving somewhere else within the village?" He saw her start to protest that she didn't want to move, she wanted someone to train Hariken, but he held up a hand, "Hear me out, Uroko-chan. I want to finish my business with Ran-san so he can return to replenishing his hive and protecting your son at the Nara compound. As the head of a clan and the sole person keeping your family alive financially you can, of course, let us know what you think." The underlying message didn't need to be said. She could let the Hokage know what she thought, but her opinion ultimately couldn't change anything.

Hiruzen came out of his relaxed position and leaned forward, folding his hands in front of his face. "I've been thinking of this plan since Ran started to tell me of this attack. The place I'm thinking of will be the most heavily monitored area by the Uchiha police force in the entire village. Nothing goes on there without sharingan eyes watching carefully. Whether officially or not, you and your son are still my people. Danzo cannot change that fact, no matter how hard he tries. As my people, I wish to keep you safe."

There was a knock on the door and the intercom at Hiruzen's desk buzzed. He pressed it and the voice of his secretary came from it saying, "Hokage-sama, Uchiha Fugaku is here to see you."

"I called for him. Send him in."

Within moments, the door opened once more to admit a average-sized man that carried himself with an air of one much larger. He had a jounin flak jacket on, with a black long-sleeved shirt on, and he wore black pants. He had a stern, downturned face and tanned skin. This was a serious man, not someone to be trifled with. Under his calculating eyes, there were deep creases, and he looked at the Hokage after doing a quick sweep of the room. "You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama." He stated.

The aging man gestured to Uroko, "This is Umi no Dokuhebi Uroko. She, her son, and two other individuals were the targets of an assassination attempt inside of our village recently." He said. "I am in need of the Uchiha Police Force to protect them for an extended period of time."

Fugaku's eyes briefly bloomed into the bloody color of the sharingan to look around the room again before focusing on the Hokage again. "This is about the council's decision to not allow the Umi no Dokuhebi woman to use chakra until her son has graduated from the Academy." He deduced. Fugaku was the leader of his clan for a good reason. The man was said to be one of the most intelligent men currently in Konoha. "Because this is not the first attempt on the boy's life, you feel it necessary to move their entire household into my clan district where they will be watched."

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. The Uchiha clan district is the most secure place in the village, as it is in a central location and is heavily monitored. The Umi no Dokuhebi will be safe from other attempts there." The Hokage said. "I do not wish for them to be isolated, but if what I suspect is true, then we have no other choice." Leading a village was difficult. Unlike the Inuzuka clan, Konoha did not run itself, and sometimes Hiruzen was forced to make decisions that might negatively impact some people. He stood up from his desk and walked to the window, to look out over the village that was his responsibility to keep in order. "Young Hariken was targeted because he is a child, and unable to defend himself. These assassins planned their attack out well, forcing Ran to become incapable of fighting, then isolating the boy to kill him in his most vulnerable time." The Hokage turned his head to look at the others in the room, "Which was the daily journey to the Academy. Without Ran, Hariken was a little boy alone in a big village full of people who would rather see him dead than be trained to be part of Konoha's military force."

The room listened to what Hiruzen had to say next, "My plan is threefold. The first part being that the Umi no Dokuhebi are safely in the Uchiha Police force's center of power, where only a fool would try to infiltrate. Next, the villagers need to be pacified, which is also accomplished by putting the Umi no Dokuhebi within the Uchiha district. They will see that the Uchiha have them close, which will set the villagers' minds at ease about a possible repeat of Uzushiogakure." The Hokage sat down, tired of looking over his shoulder at the people he was addressing. "Lastly is the issue of training Hariken so that he can defend himself against future attacks." He looked at Fugaku, "You have a clan member as an Academy teacher, correct?"

Fugaku grimaced, "Yes. He went against his family's wishes to become an instructor at that place. His mother and father threw him out of their house for that. He lives in an apartment on the outskirts of the district."

Ran looked at the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, are you suggesting what I'm thinking?"

Hiruzen nodded, "I'm eliminating the transit between the Academy and the place the Umi no Dokuhebi live, by bringing the Academy to the Umi no Dokuhebi. Then, Hariken and Anko won't be in danger every day."

Uroko smiled brightly, "Then they can go at their own pace and maybe graduate early! Hokage-sama, this is wonderful! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, Uroko-chan." He said. "My authority only goes so far. I can only do this if the Uchiha agree to it." He looked at Fugaku, "What is your view on this, Fugaku?"

The stern man sighed, knowing a lost battle when he saw one. "You know of the rising tension in the village between the Uchiha and the rest of Konoha, Hokage-sama. This will be seen negatively by the council as a power-grab."

Hiruzen smiled, "Leave the council to me. I can convince them of the decision to move the Umi no Dokuhebi as something to solidify the mutual trust and respect between the Uchiha clan and our village. The majority of the council is already supportive of the Umi no Dokuhebi being part of Konoha, so there should not be too much dissent other than Shimura Danzo and his ilk."

Fugaku bowed his head, "Very well Hokage-sama. I will allow the Umi no Dokuhebi clan and their household to stay in my district."

"Good. You are dismissed Uchiha-san, Aburame-san."

The two bowed and left the room to do their respective duties. Ran, to replenish his hive, and Fugaku to run his clan.

With only Uroko and Hiruzen left in the room, the Hokage slackened in his chair and rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "I cannot tell the future," He said, "But I do know that there will be repercussions to this. I won't allow my orders to be reversed. I can assure you that you will have the protection of the sharingan for as long as you stay in the Uchiha district. I will have to attend additional meetings with both the Uchiha and the council in the future to finalize some of the details, but you can rest well knowing that you are in good hands."

He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "Now, we can talk about what you barged into my office during a debriefing for." Uroko had the sensibility to wince, but the Hokage kept talking as if he hadn't noticed it at all. "You wish for someone to train Hariken. I won't ask any one of my shinobi to do it, because they could be part of the next attack, if there is one. We need to find someone that you trust, and is currently available for a prolonged time. Someone without any current missions, who is uncaring of public image and is willing to be close to some of the most hated individuals in the entire village."

The Hokage suddenly chuckled and shook his head, "I know who exactly fits those parameters."

"Who, Hokage-sama?"

"My former student, Orochimaru." Hiruzen said with a gleam in his eye, "And I think that your son can provide him with something that he is sorely lacking. The Will of Fire."

 **\/**

* * *

A man looking like a living corpse with limp, greasy hair scowled at a bandaged man while flickering in and out of a spectral state. "Your foolish, rushed, poorly thought-out plan _failed_ , Danzo. I told you not to attack the Umi no Dokuhebi clan until it was a guarantee that _he_ would die!" He snarled in a high-pitched, harsh voice. "Now the victor of Tobirama's hat is being predictable and arranging so that my prey is under the watch of the sharingan! I knew this would happen when you failed, and I can't do anything about it! Do you have any idea how badly this could end?" The person spat.

Danzo was singularly unimpressed with the man's agitation. "The plan I conceived was flawless. The variables that were not accounted for should not have even been in Konoha. Tsunade and Orochimaru were due to return to the village several weeks from now according to my scouts." He flicked some blood off of his hand, "Of course, we don't have to worry about false information within ROOT any longer. The mole has been eliminated."

"Well that's just great. You got rid of a mole while perhaps one of the most dangerous hereditary lines is still living! You need me for my and influence, Shimura Danzo, and I need you to accomplish my goals!" The man snapped. "Goals that have now become infinitely more difficult to do now that the Uchiha are involved! You fail to understand the impact of the Shiro-Herarudo line still existing. With time, the boy will only grow stronger until he cannot be stopped!"

"You seem awfully worried over a single boy. Yes, he is part of the Umi no Dokuhebi clan, and the sole survivor of the Shiro-Herarudo clan, but his presence has been mostly nondestructive. I was only opposed to the joining because you originally were against it. They have the potential to be very useful to Konoha." Danzo said coolly.

The dead-looking man's blank, glazed eyes flared, "Do not forget what the Umi no Dokuhebi has done to Konoha's longest, closest ally. Uzushiogakure is in ruins now because they infiltrated the village and began the slaughter of thousands of men, women, and children. They are dangerous, and should have been eliminated had your shinobi not failed!"

Danzo's lips twitched into a minuscule frown to show his displeasure, "And my hands were tied because I could not possibly confront the boy directly. You know of the agreement made by the council. The Umi no Dokuhebi woman was to be reduced to a civilian as long as the boy was in the Academy. I have plants in the institution to sabotage his progress so that he stays as weak as possible until he is too old and forced out of the program or passes to genin level." The bandaged man folded his hands over the cane he carried and stared at the now ghostly man. "He is young and free for the taking. If I had my way, the boy and his mother would already be undergoing ROOT's emotional training."

The man flickered back into color with a scowl on his chapped lips. "How nice. You could have tried to brainwash some of the most genetically obstinate people to ever exist. You wouldn't even be able to make them carry out commands unconsciously."

Danzo looked nonplussed and stared at the man from behind his closed hands. "There needs to be a plan to bring them under our control then."

The man exhaled through his nose and rubbed his temples with a hand. "The Uchiha will not allow me to personally… take care of the Shiro-Herarudo child. Even someone of such elusiveness as myself can't get in and out of the most secure facility in the village. For now, all that can be done is wait until an opportunity presents itself." He leveled his gaze at the bandaged councilor, "Sadly I cannot take action. With your concerns for the village, my methods would never work."

At the mention of the village, Danzo's eyes twitched in warning, "And what would your methods be?"

The man's color drained into grey once again as he examined his nails, "Oh, nothing much. Just the sowing of dissent and terror until the Uchiha's grip on the child loosened _just_ enough. As I said, they wouldn't work with a man such as you operating in the… roots of the great tree that is Konohagakure."

"We are at war! I will not allow an unsheathed sword run loose within this village while I still draw breath!" Danzo snapped with an adamant air. "Dangers to myself are excusable and even ignorable, but I will never allow personal goals to directly threaten Konoha. You will not jeopardize the survival of this place."

The man scoffed, still looking at his nails uncaringly, "I won't harm your precious tree, Warhawk. The boy is still here after all, and while I am unable to spirit him away from the Uchiha, I will not harm your village. I will sit and bide my time, waiting for the most opportune time to take the last Shiro-Herarudo, and then you will never see me again."

Danzo stood from his seat of power in the bowels of the ROOT hideout, looked briefly at the flickering, ghastly man in front of him, and leaned on a cane. "It is most pleasing to know you will not tear my village to pieces. I will be watching you closely." The aging man turned his back rudely, "You are dismissed."

As the bandaged man with the cane exited the room, the corpse's shoulders began to shake, until he was unable to contain himself any longer and burst into mad howling laughter. His eyes shone yellow and his teeth seemed sharp as he drained of color once more. "When will Danzo learn that I am no dog to be ordered about? Ah, I relish the day when he comes to know it." A short blade, obviously well cared for appeared in the man's hands and he caresses the handle lovingly. "He is nothing," The man crooned, fully aware that Danzo's agents could hear him. "His death is not necessary in my quest, but I will relish removing a thorn from my side when this is all… _over."_ He growled hungrily.

He glanced at both of the ROOT agents in the rafters, "Good night, my sweets. Pray that you will receive mercy!" He cackled before he disappeared in a puff of oily black, sulfur-smelling smoke.

 **\/**

* * *

Kami, the Uchiha fan was all over this place! Every wall, every rug, every article of clothing these guys wore all had that stupid red and white fan sticking out like a sore thumb. Frankly, the design choice was as ugly as could be, but I didn't blame them. We all needed a sense of unity in this world, and if it took the symbol of a family being plastered on every available flat surface then so be it. I for one, am not going to tell the prideful Uchiha clan to stop painting their family crest. They had a darn good reason to be proud of it, and I just got here.

Rocking the boat? No thank you.

I was still in the Nara safehouse when the door opened loudly and was very surprised to see Kaa-chan standing there flanked by two unhappy-looking Uchiha decked out in fan-covered clothing. She immediately started giving orders and the two men began sealing Anko's, Kaa-chan's, Ran's, and my belongings that were brought to the safehouse for creature comforts. Things we'd always have when we were home, like a couple of my textbooks (that I was feverishly poring over after getting injured again. I will never be weak like that again!), Anko's prank supplies (ahem, 'public entertainment devices' thank you very much), Ran's shogi board (with insect figurines replacing the normal pieces), and Kaa-chan's calligraphy supplies (she'd gotten really into it after not being able to use chakra or train).

I was surprised to see these random men barging into the house and start to seal things away but Kaa-chan gave me a dangerous look and made me hand over my stuff.

Like a whirlwind the two grumpy men and Kaa-chan had all evidence of the Umi no Dokuhebi inhabiting the house gone. Anko and I were ushered out of the building, both having looks of puzzlement on our faces as one of the men grabbed hold of us two and shunshinned away.

We reappeared in poofs of smoke and I pushed myself away from the man, much to my protesting ribs. That's when I got my first look at the Uchiha district in all its fan-emblazoned glory. I turned to Kaa-chan, "What the heck is going on?! Why are these guys taking everything and stealing us away from the safehouse where I was recovering from getting _stabbed_?"

She scoffed at my attitude, "These _guys_ , Hariken, are the ones who will be housing us for the foreseeable future. An arrangement was made by the Hokage and Fugaku-san for the Uchiha to keep us safe until I could use my chakra again." Her slit blue eyes darted around warily, "And perhaps for a while after that. You and Anko are getting a personal Uchiha Academy instructor, and training from an unspecified source." She finished with a wink.

My head buzzed for a second or two while I gaped at her. "Uh, mind repeating that for me?"

Anko gasped and leapt forward at Kaa-chan with a happy squeal. I'd never imagine I'd hear that noise from the future butt-kicking kuniochi, so that was almost as shocking as the news. _'The Uchiha? What the heck is going on here? What about the massacre?'_

Then it clicked. If the Hokage was spooked into moving us to the Uchiha compound, then this must be serious. Someone has to be out to get me. This is the part where the insane paranoid man in my head snaps his fingers with an 'I knew it!' and starts scribbling furiously on a whiteboard.

I shook my head, this was no time for levity. I looked around to see that we were still near the entrance to the compound. _'Too exposed. We have to get out of line of sight before someone decides to take a potshot at us.'_ I dragged Anko from her happy, squealy death grip on Kaa-chan. "Come on Anko. We need to get inside. We're wasting time out here and we need to get settled before something tries to catch us off guard again."

She shook herself free from my hand and looked at me, puzzled. "What's with the hurry Blue? We've got all the Uchiha Police here to protect us."

I laughed humorlessly, "And what good is that if someone tries to snipe us? 'Leave your head exposed-'" I recited.

"'And you're going to get it blown off.'" She finished. It was something we learned early on in the Academy, and good advice for being in the open. With a nod, Anko looked at Kaa-chan, who was eying us with amusement.

Kaa-chan smiled and put her hands on her hips, "Good to see you're learning Hariken." She said. "Come on. While we adults can protect ourselves, you and Anko are vulnerable targets. Get inside the gates, so we can be shown the new home." She nodded to the two men, _twins_ I realized, and we were lead into the bowels of the infamous Uchiha compound. A place that would be, in thirteen years, painted with the blood of the Uchiha by the hands of one of their own.

 **\/**

* * *

Everything was such a blur, from seeing a team of Uchiha men swarming over an apartment building like a horde of ants, to to being talked to by seemingly hundreds of people, all the while marveling at the fluidity and grace that these people had in every single one of their movements. There was so much going on at the same time, that I only dimly remembered my chest feeling like it caught fire and having to sit down for a solid I don't know how long. The only constant was Anko by my side, because Kaa-chan had come and gone. I was very glad that she was around, because I felt like I would get swept away in all the commotion. She grounded me in reality, as cliché as it sounded.

"So, this happened." She said while the two of us sat under a tree, watching the clouds drift by. Well, she sat under the shade while I was practicing my chakra control by having my feet placed on two different branches while hanging upside down.

I huffed out a laugh and watched the five leaves that were balanced on my fingertips with chakra. "And you said that it was dull back at the house, Anko-chan. Is this what you were imagining by 'things happening'?"

She played with a blade of grass, tearing it into long, thin strips and trying to make a noise by blowing through her clasped hands with the grass between her thumbs. When the grass failed to make the squawk she wanted, she sighed. "Kinda. I wanted to meet some new new people." She laughed and picked up a stick to throw upwards at me. "You didn't have to go and nearly get yourself killed so I could go out and find some people, you know. You could have just asked if you wanted to go out and explore or something."

"With you and Ran curled up and moaning pitifully in your beds? Of course I had to get stabbed, if only to stop hearing you two complain about how much pain you were in."

"Ha. Ha." Anko laughed sarcastically. "I'm not the one who got my butt handed to me by a medic after getting distracted by a _rock_."

I blushed, making my blue scales flush with purple as the two colors mixed. "That's low. He had body armor on. By the time grabbed my tanto to get through it he'd already cheated and called backup." I protested.

She stuck out her tongue, "At least I would have taken it seriously from the very beginning. You _had_ to showboat and be arrogant didn't you?" Anko shook her head, "I bet you could have killed the medic punk if you weren't being such a monumental idiot."

My fingers twitched, sending the leaves fluttering to the ground as the tiny amounts of chakra holding them was destabilized. I clenched my blue-scaled hand to stop its shaking. _'I didn't want to kill him… I never meant to. He was just a kid, forced into it. He didn't want to do it any more than I did.'_

"So?" Anko asked. I realized that I was speaking my thoughts again and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. "You were threatened, and his backup would've killed you. It's better if you would've at least killed one of them ahead of time. You wouldn't even have got stabbed."

I looked at my hands again. "He was shaking in terror, Anko. Medics heal people, they don't generally kill. He shouldn't have needed to kill."

Anko huffed, "Jeez, Blue. Since when were you such a wuss? You told me that you've killed before, why should this one be any different?" She asked with the casualness of someone talking about what they should wear. "I mean, you said something about some woman in Kiri? She was an adult, and you killed her, so why couldn't you kill the kid?"

I cut off the flow of chakra to my feet and did a midair flip to land in front of her. I glared right at her, "You don't understand what it's like to watch as someone's life drains from their body and knowing that you caused it." I could still feel the sticky blood on my hands, even though I'd scrubbed my hands raw the first moment I was able to after waking up and discovering I was in Konoha. "Yeah, I was arrogant. I don't know why. It's so easy to lose a fight."

"You can't live without fighting, Hariken. I mean, we're going to be shinobi together. I can't have my sidekick turning over and surrendering every time we get into a fight." She screwed up her face, "That's just stupid."

I was gritting my teeth. "I'm not going to be a coward and back down from every fight Anko! I just don't want to kill like this. Without remorse, like an animal!"

Anko went deadly silent and stared at me in awe. I was about to demand what the look was for angrily when I realized she wasn't looking at me at all, but rather behind me.

"Kukukukuku… How touching. It seems you share the same sentiment as that fool Jiraiya. He doesn't like to kill either, and look where he is now, in some backwater village looking after three brats he wasn't strong enough to end."

I whipped around, only for a foot to sweep my legs from underneath me. Another foot was jammed harshly onto my tender chest and a kunai so sharp that it completely ignored my scales was pressed under my chin, drawing blood. I gave a yell as the pressure on my chest increased with the man leaning down.

Orochimaru of the Sannin smiled down at me with a malevolent glint in his gold eyes. "You're weak. But you interest me greatly." He lifted the foot and the knife away. "Your mother was most concerned with how weak you were, so she asked Hokage-sama to find someone to train you. There was only one person that could do so."

The snake grabbed me by the front of my shirt and hefted me into the air effortlessly, "I'm here to make you stronger." His mouth twisted into a sickening smile, "You need to be able to protect those who can't bear the burden after all, do you not?" He asked with a very self-satisfied air.

The snake had me, and he knew it.


	10. Chapter 10: Concurrence

**Chapter 10: Concurrence**

 **AN: I do not own Naruto or any of Masashi Kishimoto's characters. All I own are my original characters and ideas, stunted and as in disarray as they are.**

 **Small time skip of two years here. At this point we're four years until the Kyuubi's attack. Hariken and Anko are eight years old.**

"Speech."

' _Thought.'_

 **"Attacks (Translations)"**

 **\/**

* * *

Hatake Kakashi stared at the note with his name scribbled out in what looked like the kanji of a child. He'd found it folded neatly in half and stuck to the front door of his apartment by an old rusty senbon, and took it down, not bothering to read it. This wasn't the first note that was left by one of his fellow squad members, but never with a throwing needle in such a state of disrepair. Usually they just wanted to invite him out to eat without having to wear their masks, so he ignored it. This time was no different, and Kakashi pocketed the note without a second glance. If his teammates wanted his attention so badly, they'd come personally. The old senbon still bothered him ceaselessly, but he tried his best to put it out of his mind.

That was a week ago. Now, Kakashi sat at his table idly spinning the needle and looking at the poorly handwritten note. After much hesitation, the last Hatake flipped open the paper.

His two black eyes scanned the rather lengthy note, easily deciphering the symbols once he recognized the writing and realized who'd stuck it to his door.

 _Hey Kakashi._ The note read. _I know it's been two years since I've last seen you, but I just wanted to say hi and check up on you. I'm sure you know about what happened about my move to the Uchiha compound. But if not, I'll tell you the short version: after the assassination attempt, the Hokage and everyone in the house got super worried. What ended up happening was the Hokage pretty much telling the Uchiha clan head that we had to live in the Uchiha compound for protection. Ever since then, I've been cooped up in here. They even got an Academy teacher from the Uchiha clan to teach me so I didn't have any reason to leave._

 _Anyways, Hokage-sama and Kaa-chan made this plan up to have me and Anko personally trained so neither of us gets hurt like I did again. Apparently the Hokage thinks it's best to send one of his old students to train me. Kaa-chan said it was something about the Will of Fire, I think. So I've got Orochimaru-sensei here looking over my shoulder as I write this._

Here the ink smudged, as if the hand that wrote it was trembling slightly. _He's not happy I mentioned him._

 _It's boring here without anyone to spar with like you and I did. There's this one other Uchiha kid my age, but he really doesn't like to spar that much. His name is Obito, you know him? He's… strange for one of them. He wears these bright orange goggles and whenever I see him he's always helping someone. Not that that's a bad thing, just, different from what I've seen from the Uchiha._

 _Kaa-chan is fine, if you wanted to know. She's taken up calligraphy and is always bugging me to improve my own writing, which is annoying. Anko has started the kunoichi classes the Academy teaches, and I swear she's trying to kill me. If I have to eat another onigiri because Kaa-chan thinks it's 'cute,' I might stab Anko. What I wouldn't do for a bowl of Ichiraku ramen right now. I hate to admit it, but that place is actually one of the places I miss the most during my time away from the rest of the village._

 _Anyway, there's not much to do in my free time. I'm almost always doing something, whether for Orochimaru-sensei or Katamari-sensei, so I really don't have much time to do anything._

 _Orochimaru-sensei is giving me this weird calculating look, so I need to finish this up. That look is never a good thing._

 _I miss having my old sparring partner, Kakashi. If I remember correctly, your face was nice for letting out some frustration. Maybe we can sneak me out of here some day so we can beat the crap out of each other? I'm looking forward to our next fight. Our last one never had a winner._

 _See you later, then, I guess, maybe?_

 _-Hariken_

With that awkward conclusion, Kakashi placed the letter off to the side, staring blankly at nothing. There he sat for a good minute before shaking his head and getting up from his chair.

He didn't know why he donned his coat to go out into the rainy Konoha spring weather, but Kakashi felt like he should be training.

 **\/**

* * *

I stared deeply into the four cups of tea on the table in front of me. All of them were identical innocent-looking pink ceramic cups sitting in a row, but the contents were far more menacing. My hands hesitated over one of the cups, before I drew them back. This was a grueling test. One that could possibly kill me. I didn't dare grab the wrong one.

Orochimaru-sensei sat on the other side of the table, watching my every move with eyes sharper than that of an eagle's. Whenever my hands hovered over one of the teacups, his lips would twitch ever so slightly in amusement. I knew he could control his expressions completely, so there was no way he wasn't playing mind games. I'd broken into a cold sweat about five minutes ago.

Anko sat next to our sensei beaming brightly, either oblivious or sadistically enjoying my plight. I leaned more to the latter. Anko was taking on traits of our sensei faster than I thought she would be. I'd already found her playing with the odd dead mouse or bird, kunai in hand, a few times. While it was worrying to see my friend change, even so slightly, I knew that it had to happen. My eyebrows knotted in frustration, _'Does she really have to become like him though?'_ I thought. _'Anko isn't that influential of a character in the anime… she doesn't have to act like Orochimaru, does she?'_

Surely, the things I had to handle are deadly. I don't want to change anything too much, but I don't even know what's been changed so far. _'Argh! I need to deal with this tea first! I can think philosophy and changing the future later, when I'm not being watched by eagle-eyed shinobi.'_ I thought, shooting a glance at Orochimaru, who hadn't moved a muscle since I last looked at him. Fresh sweat cropped up on my brow. Kami, it was like being stalked by a predator.

I quickly averted my gaze to the four teacups. Three of the four cups contained a poison Orochimaru had discovered disguised in the tea, one that was nigh untraceable except by the most elite of the elite shinobi.

The last, however, had tea brewed by Anko.

I had a three-in-four chance of not dying today. I could do this. My forked tongue darted out, tasting the anticipation in the air as I reached for the leftmost cup. A mote of dust flew into my eye and I blinked to clear it, momentarily blocking my vision while I rubbed my eyes.

When I opened them again there were ripples in the four glasses.

My eyes narrowed and I reached for the second cup in from the right. _'Fine then, be that way Orochimaru-sensei.'_ I thought. He must have switched the cups on me. Still sure of my chances, I raised the cup to my lips and took a tentative sip. It was like the weight of the world had lifted from my shoulders as I tasted the exquisitely-brewed tea of Orochimaru's make. I lived, for now.

I then tipped the cup back to take a deeper drink.

And proceeded to almost choke on what seemed like old leather, pencil shavings, freshly-crushed insects, and about a pound of honey. My face screwed up into a fixed smile out of reflex, and I'm sure my expression was nothing close to the satisfied look I was trying to portray. With much struggling, I managed to swallow, feeling like my tongue just got violated. "I-it's g-great Anko-ch-chan!" I said, trying not to retch. By Kami, it was _not_ great. How on Earth did she manage to make a cup of tea this bad? Did she wash the teapot with mud?

If possible, her smile got even brighter and the joyfully evil gleam in Orochimaru's eyes shone. With shaking hands, I set the cup back onto its saucer and picked up another one, desperate to cleanse my taste buds. I took deep drink of the warm liquid and coated as much of my tongue with it as possible. When I finally had the taste out of my mouth, I sighed gratefully. _'At last… something that won't kill me if I drink it._ ' I thought, taking another drink of the poison. "Anko." Her warm chocolate eyes looked to mine, "How do you do it? I just _have_ to know your secret to making your tea." I said, trying to figure out just what the heck she managed to do to the poor leaves.

She rubbed her neck, "Well, I found this one bush, and Katamari-sensei said that there's lots of green teas made from freshly-picked leaves. So I took a bunch of them from the bush when Orochimaru-sensei asked me to make some tea." Her expression grew more evil, and I felt a growing sense of dread. "The color wasn't right, so I stirred in some soy sauce to make it black like what it's supposed to be." She frowned in faux-frustration, "And then it _still_ didn't look right! It was too dark now. So I put a little bit of flour in the cup. Then, it finally looked perfect." Her face changed back to a brilliant smile, "I know how you like sweet things, so I stirred some honey in."

"Anko." I said, deadpan. "Did you, by chance, try the tea you'd made for me?"

She crossed her arms, "What kind of person do you think I am? I'm not going to drink the tea I made for you." She stated. I slid the saucer over to her and gestured for her to take it, but Anko turned her nose up at it. "And I'm not drinking it now either. You already had some, that's just gross Blue!" She said. Even though she had this angelic, innocent look on her face, the glint in her eyes and the twitching of her lips gave her away.

' _Why that little…'_

I was about to respond with some old dirt I had on her when Orochimaru-sensei cleared his throat softly. We both tensed at his voice. "As amusing as this is, I did not take you out of the Uchiha compound for _tea_ and to play with Hariken's mind _._ " He said smoothly. "There is something important that must be done, and you are both coming with me."

Anko and I briefly met eyes. Of all the things Orochimaru-sensei could have said, this was perhaps the last thing we would've expected. "I would normally have no reason to take you two with me, but councilman Tsukuda Satoshi specifically asked for me, and that you would come along. Make no mistake, I am no dog to be summoned at his master's will." He hissed. Orochimaru was his own master, even though nobody in the village knew it at this point. "This little call has the potential to be very beneficial for me." His eyes narrowed dangerously at us, "I have no patience for fools, so you will both act as I have trained you to, or you will find a new sensei." He promised.

"Afterward, you will come with me to see the Hokage." Orochimaru looked right at me, "Consider yourself fortunate that you're wanted enough by not only the Hokage, but the councilman as well. This desire allows you to… twist events in your favor. We leave in five minutes, prepare yourself." He said, standing.

I nodded gravely, _'No joking around now. Any attention I gather from the higher ups in Konoha is bad.'_ I thought. My presence has already created too many waves in Konoha. It was quiet for a while, with me being hidden away by the Hokage in the Uchiha district and the ending of the Second Great Shinobi War, but I had a feeling things were about to ramp up again. My feelings weren't unfounded either, because the Third Great War started around this time. I'm also acutely aware that 'Councilman Tsukuda Satoshi' never existed as well. Just like the Umi no Dokuhebi clan's lack of existence. Something fishy is going on. I took a deep breath and leveled my expression while I saw Anko do the same, masking her cheerful personality under a blank facade. It was scary how quickly she did that. I often wonder how much of her is genuine, and how much is a mask, but I'm really not that different so I never ask.

Orochimaru regarded my flat look and nodded. "Good, you're both ready. Let's go."

I took a quick look around the café we'd commandeered, trying to burn the sight of one of the only places I'd seen outside of the Uchiha compound into my memory. As there was nothing but the fan-emblazoned buildings of the compound to look at, the change of scenery was nice.

We all stood as one and left the small café, making sure to step over the unconscious forms of the man who owned the shop and his daughter on the way out. They'd tried to stop us from coming in, but no citizen could get the upper hand on one of the Sannin. There was always a price to pay for absolute secrecy. Orochimaru saw only an inconvenience, but I knew murder was all too easy for him. He would have even relished it, if he wouldn't be branded a criminal for doing so. Everyone knows Orochimaru was always a bit… twisted.

 **\/**

* * *

Tsukuda Satoshi was a powerful man. Perhaps the most powerful man in the village of Konoha not a shinobi. He didn't need knives or chakra to do his bidding, because he had his mind. With that mind, he cultivated a grand business, and spread it all over Hi no Kuni, taking over many other businesses with it. His success wouldn't have been thought to come from one of his background, but there will always be anomalies in the world.

The son of a prostitute and a drunkard gambler, nobody acknowledged the child. They only regarded him for what he was, but not _who_. While others wasted away their time at bars and pubs, the sickly boy would watch the owners from the shadows, observing all the underhanded tricks and business tactics they used. Always learning, always watching.

As a teen, and for the entirety of his life for that matter, Satoshi was in tune with the socioeconomic trends of both the shinobi world and the civilian world. He saw things nobody else did. For example, at one time he noticed shinobi all wearing a certain type of sandal and made sure his clothing stores had plenty in stock. At the same time he made sure to have the old design looked at and improved. While he, himself, did not look at the sandal personally, his power was great enough that he had inventors and innovators do it for him. Even at a ripe young age.

But unlike most big businessmen, he was not hated for what he did. In fact, Tsukuda Satoshi was loved by the people. He provided them with food when they needed it, the clothes they wore in cold winters, the caravans to trade in other nations, and so much more. He was loved to the point they unanimously elected him to take a seat in the Konoha council, to a position of power almost equal to the clan heads. He humbly accepted the seat, despite not wanting it, and used it to make the lives of the people of Konoha better. At this very moment, new irrigation systems were being dug in the farmlands of Hi no Kuni.

But not all was sunshine and rainbows with Satoshi. No, at times he was doing deeds and making deals that couldn't possibly be further than the image of generosity and kindness he projected. This had been happening more as of late, with the recent ending of the Second War. Something had to be done, with all the crooks, bandits, thieves, and any number of vermin running amok in Hi no Kuni.

Though he detested money going out of the hands of the citizens to hire _mercenaries_ of all people, the might of Konohagakure was diminished from this war. A war of fools squabbling for a few miles of dirt and stone. He never condoned that war, in fact he was quite against it, despite all the other businessmen latching onto the idea desperately to line their own pockets. None of the council, even the militaristic Shimura Danzo were for the war. How it even happened in the first place was a mystery to Satoshi.

Thieves and outlaws weren't the only ones reaping from the war, either. Satoshi had taken a serious look at his finances once a money leak had been reported, and discovered that thousands of ryo were disappearing daily for mysterious reasons. Sadly, Satoshi knew exactly who it was that was stealing the money. A Kusagakure native by the name of Maeda Reizo.

It was out of an utter lack of time and other people that Satoshi hired him, and now the time has come to get rid of Reizo. The man was in charge of providing raw materials for Konoha's arms, and transporting the finished product to Satoshi's stores and warehouses. When the war was raging, Reizo was absolutely vital to keeping Konoha armed, but now, with the war over and his treachery revealed, Satoshi needed to use more… underhanded methods to deal with him. Reizo was no longer needed, and another man could be trained to take his place.

This would be done in time, but the man has to be dealt with first. The problem was, Reizo was too deeply entrenched into Satoshi's businesses to simply fire. That's why he called upon one individual that he knew was subtle. A man that he called upon quite frequently for secret works. He'd never failed Satoshi, and had become one of the his most reliable colleagues.

The fact Orochimaru had two unofficial apprentices only helped in the long run. The two children would learn to be as ruthless, secretive, and efficient as their master. For Konoha to have what amounted to two or even three of Orochimaru at the same time would be unbelievably good. So Satoshi would ask that Orochimaru take the two students with him on this mission, as illegal and frowned upon as it is. They needed to learn the darker side of shinobi business, or at least be introduced to the idea. Children were malleable, so telling them these kinds of things were okay made them more willing to be worked with in the future. Morals were taught after all, not inherited.

It was never said that Satoshi was a moral man, only that he did what was good for the people.

There was a knock on the doors leading to Satoshi's office, and the unhealthily thin man smiled. He'd cleaned out his rather busy schedule just for a chance to speak with Orochimaru and give him this down-low mission.

He took a deep breath, gave a little cough, and invited the Sannin into his chamber. It was time.

 **\/**

* * *

I stood stone-faced, to Orochimaru-sensei's left as he knocked on the door politely. The action confused me. Orochimaru is a shinobi of shinobi, why wouldn't he make himself to appear in a position of power? Intimidation and and getting pleasure from others' fear was _his_ thing, no one did it quite like my serpentine teacher.

A hoarse, aged voice called out from the other side of the door, "Please, come in Orochimaru."

Without ceremony, my sensei opened the grand double doors and stepped into the room. It was not lavish as I thought it would be, but rather held the air of a place of study. Bookshelves, floor to ceiling, left no open space for the walls to be seen and were filled fully with volumes and volumes of books. Some of the gold-colored kanji on the spines I recognized, like clothing, food, and metal but others were utterly foreign to me. _'Maybe I should take Kaa-chan up on that offer for calligraphy and kanji practice. Kami knows I don't have anyone teaching it to me.'_ I thought, my eyes flicking across the collection of knowledge. I'd never seen so many books in one place in this world.

We came to a stop in front of three comfortable-looking chairs seated before a mahogany desk. Orochimaru didn't sit, so I didn't dare take initiative to do so. I'd rather not risk going against Orochimaru's orders, I value my life too much.

Sitting behind the desk was an emaciated man wearing an ill-fitting kimono the color of jade stone. His skin was pulled so tightly to his face, I could clearly see his teeth and skull. A pair of eyes tinted yellow by jaundice bored into the three of us from behind silver-framed glasses, steady and focused. His head was hairless, with not even eyebrows making themselves known. Liver spots dotted the man's head in various places, and his features were sharp. He was not handsome by any stretch, nor was he distastefully ugly. I had to pin the man down as old, but not down for the count. Not by a long shot.

The man stirred, his eyes flicking to Orochimaru, "Are you not going to introduce your charges, old colleague?" He asked, voice raspy. "We have known each other long enough to know each other's personal life, and yet here sits two secrets you've kept from me." He said, not without humor. "I feel rather insulted, my friend. I thought we trusted each other more than this." The thin man said.

' _This is Tsukuda Satoshi? He's nothing like Kaa-chan described him. She said he was some nearly dead old grumpy guy that wanted nothing to do with us.'_

Orochimaru gave a dangerous smile to the man. "Of course Satoshi-san, you knew _of_ them, but I am no fool to tell more about my students to a man of business over letter. Some trust can be reserved only for personal visits." My sensei reached over and gripped the shoulders of Anko and I, "Students, be respectful to a business partner and introduce yourselves."

Anko spoke up first, maintaining her mask of indifference. "I am Mitarashi Anko. I am eight years old, and a student of Orochimaru-sama. He has trained me in the shinobi arts for two years now and I know no better person to train under as a student." My purple-haired friend said, lacking inflection and sending the man a challenging look.

Satoshi gave a mock shiver, "My, my. So cold, you are, Anko-chan. I can see you becoming a great kunoichi under Orochimaru." He said with a skeletal grin and a slight cough. The businessman then turned to me, "And you, the heir of the great and terrible Umi no Dokuhebi clan. Tell me about yourself."

I gazed at the emaciated man evenly, "My name is Umi no Dokuhebi Hariken. I have struggled for everything in my life, and am faced by a village full of those who would rather kill me than live with me every morning for nearly three years now. Orochimaru is training me so I can be far stronger than I am. With that strength, I will protect us all, whether through murdering Konoha's enemies in cold blood or paving the road for the future of this world in steel and fire." I said.

…

Was it too much? I felt that I was slightly over-dramatizing it with the 'steel and fire', but I was serious. So far I've killed twice now, and if it means killing again to protect those I love and bending the knee to one of the most inherently evil people I can imagine to get the strength to do so, then so be it. Orochimaru will not break me so easily.

Satoshi hummed and sat back, "A driven one." He commented hoarsely. The businessman turned to Orochimaru with joy in his eyes, "They're perfect. Let's talk business!" He said, before dissolving into a fit of coughing. Once it subsided, he stood and pulled a book from the bookcase behind him, taking out a file hidden in the front cover. The man opened it and slid it across the desk, making sure we could all see it. On the right cover was a picture of an arrogant-looking pale man with long slicked back silver hair, a gaunt face, and a square jaw. There were glasses over his brown eyes and a smirk playing on his rather fat lips. I looked on the other side of the folder, and saw a column of numbers, some varying in value, but none dipping below one thousand.

"This man is Maeda Reizo." Satoshi explained. "He is the owner of a part of my company, mainly concerning arming Konohagakure's shinobi force. I never intended to hire him into such a high position for long, but the wretch weaseled his way into a secure spot. He's been draining me of my funds over a long period of time, and I believe he intends to flee with it all. Sadly, Reizo can't be fired without fracturing my company into hundreds of pieces and having him scamper away with the scraps. He will be my downfall."

The man plucked at a loose thread of his kimono, completely at ease. He smiled dangerously at Orochimaru, "That is, if he survives." He chuckled. I glanced at my white-skinned sensei and saw a peculiar shine to his eyes. "Reizo needs to be taken care of, Orochimaru-san, and I trust nobody more than you to get the job done." Satoshi said. He then spread his arms widely, only coughing once before launching into his sales pitch. "I am only doing what is in the best interest of the people. They need order, not chaos. Ridding the world of Maeda Reizo only creates unity in our lovely village. I provide what they need, and the people love me for it. Take me away, and invite chaos. There must be a perfect unity without hatred and struggling between the people. A unity currently in danger from Maeda Reizo."

Orochimaru-sensei chuckled, his shoulders shaking, "Kukukuku… such aspiration. Is there anything… unexpected that needs to be addressed? I do not like unwelcome surprises, especially from such close partners as yourself." He said, inspecting his nails.

Satoshi sat back, folding his hands in his lap. I could see him regarding Anko and I, before he looked at our sensei again. "Take the children with you, please." He requested, his yellowed eyes staring directly at me. "That is all I ask. The two of them look so terribly anxious from being stowed away for so long." He said. I bristled at being called anxious through my mask despite my best attempts to look stoic. My body language and expression gave nothing away, thank-you-very-much!

Seeing my tensing, Satoshi smirked and gestured to me, "See, old friend? At the very mention of being out of the compound, your student goes rigid with excitement." He observed. Kami, the man was suited to his position as a politician and businessman with the way he twisted words!

Orochimaru turned to me with a look quite unlike what I was expecting. His eyes were calculating, instead of promising punishment for not acting 'as he trained us.' If there was one thing that was more frightening than Orochimaru being visibly angry, it was the _look_ where he sized you up like a specimen and not a living, thinking person. "Yes." He said. "I have noticed their discomfort as well. To be quite honest with you, Satoshi, I should have snuck them out sooner. Children tend to not develop in isolated environments. They grow too accustomed to the protection of their surroundings, and become hopelessly naive." Orochimaru gave us a level look, "Naivety does nothing but get you and everyone around you killed…" He gave a predatory grin at us, "I won't allow you two to become a liability. You're too interesting to be wasted as refugees and orphans. No, that simply won't do."

Orochimaru turned to Satoshi, "Anko and Hariken are coming with me on this mission. If only to save me the trouble of having to _break_ them of an unwanted mindset later."

The councilman stood from his chair, "One more thing before we negotiate your _very generous_ and unique payment." Satoshi said. "Reizo has sent several missives via messenger hawk recently, all heading East. Intercepting them would only jeopardize any possible element of surprise. He could be contacting a number of different places, but be on the watch for Suna or Iwa shinobi. I believe he is unaware of my knowledge of his theft, but I will assume the worst scenario. Following that thought, Reizo is most likely going to try and escape from Hi no Kuni as quickly as possible. If he gets away then the economy of a good deal of the Elemental Nations stands chance of collapsing." After a moment Satoshi scoffed, "All because of a single man's lust for power. Disgraceful."

My sensei gave a nod, no doubt substituting 'disgraceful' with 'pathetic.' "My payment, Tsukuda-san."

The man's face screwed up and he coughed violently into his sleeve. For a few seconds, he was silent, until he drew in a shaky breath.

"Ah… my apologies. Firstly, you'll be ridding the world of a fool. A payment to the entire world, surely." He drawled weakly. "But that isn't what you want. You're a man of science, the premiere of it in Konoha. Your guaranteed reward for taking care of this small matter is access to any research you desire from the men and women under my employment. Granted, there is some I cannot allow you to see, but most of it is open to you." Satoshi twitched, suddenly thinking of something. "As a businessman, I cannot let you walk away with it either." He held up a finger, "But! You can copy it freely." Orochimaru took it all in, but kept an empty face. The councilman took that as a sign to continue, and bared his teeth in a grin. "Of course, you will be given S-rank mission pay."

Against my will, my eyebrows shot up. _'S-rank?!'_ I thought. _'How does this qualify as an S-rank mission? This is just an assassination!'_

"-It will be delivered over a period of time, so as to not arouse suspicion, but all of the money will find its way to you. Do we have a deal?" The politician asked, stretching out his hand.

Orochimaru stood and stared at Satoshi for a minute, but he sat resolute against the Sannin. Eventually, the snake summoner reached over and took Satoshi's hand, confirming the deal. "Maeda Reizo's life is forfeit. Goodbye, Tsukuda Satoshi."

The emaciated man smiled, "I look forward to working with you again, old friend."

 **\/**

When the grand double doors closed behind Orochimaru and the two kids, Satoshi sat down on his chair, fresh sweat cropping up on his hairless brow. He panted for a minute before suddenly giving into a fit of shakes. It took quite a lot to maintain control of his body for so long. Satoshi started growling, visibly struggling against something. "Get out of me… parasite!"

The man then started convulsing in his chair, black smudges racing across his sickly skin like water. Eventually, most of his body was covered in a pitch black substance with a glowing yellow eye. The mass chuckled darkly, "You're growing weaker Satoshi, while I only gain strength. Consider yourself happy I decided to come here, because you'll live for so much longer now."

"I would have gladly accepted my death. I was preparing for it, monster! This is not the way." The man protested weakly.

"It doesn't matter if anything goes your way or not. You, Tsukuda Satoshi, never existed." The black mass said, creeping over the strong-willed man, "None will lament the will of Otsutsuki Kaguya killing off someone who should have rightfully never existed."

"I exist, demon! Now get off of me so I can live the rest of my short life in peace." Satoshi rasped.

The man got cut off, choking on his words while Zetsu looked at the file still sitting on Satoshi's desk.

"Maeda Reizo, another man that never existed…" The creature murmured. "I would have never expected all of this happening from just a single summoning."

Satoshi gained control of his body again, sweat freely dripping into his kimono, "What are you talking about? Let me go!" He demanded. All of his fight was for naught, when the power of Black Zetsu slammed down on him. The merchant lost the ability to resist him and fell unconscious, allowing the manifestation of Kaguya's will to take over completely. He'd fight again, but his waking was always short-lived, and the struggle weaker every time. It was only a matter of time before he submitted to Zetsu completely.

Zetsu cracked Satoshi's neck and sighed in relief, "It's nothing personal, councilman." He said to the empty room. "I needed a position of power in the village, and possessing a dying old man with that power was too good of a chance to not take." The man's consciousness stirred slightly.

After making absolutely sure Satoshi was out, the black being contemplated the meeting he'd just witnessed through the eyes of the body he'd possessed. He crossed his borrowed legs and placed his head in one of Satoshi's bony hands. "So that was the Umi no Dokuhebi boy." He said, thinking heavily.

This changed _nothing_.

Zetsu's ultimate plan for the boy hadn't changed at all. He had to move soon though, or else the boy would get back into the Uchiha Compound.

Uchiha Compound… _Uchiha_ Compound. Shiro-Herarudo at the Uchiha Compound.

Zetsu had a thought. A good thought. The best thought for what he had in mind for the boy. A grin split the skeletal features of Satoshi's face malevolently as Zetsu planned his schemes with new vigor.

This changed _everything_.

 **\/**

* * *

For all the time Anko and I were away, there's one thing that didn't change at all.

The Hokage's secretary looked like she swallowed a lemon when she saw me. "Ah… Hello Orochimaru-sama. Here to see Hokage-sama?" She asked, her look of disdain directed at me painfully obvious.

"Of course my dear. I'll say, you look more lovely every time I see you." The Sannin crooned silkily, his words falling like honey on her ears. She looked at him and blushed slightly. "I trust we haven't been keeping Hokage-sama too long?"

Her cheeks tinted pink and she managed to stutter out a negative response before pressing the intercom button, "Hokage-sama, Orochimaru and his two…" She sent another nasty look my way, " _Charges_ are here to see you."

There was a few seconds of silence, then I heard Hiruzen's stern voice, "Send them in." If I wasn't standing next to a person that would have promised pain at the first sign of emotion in such a public place, I would've winced. As it was, my face twitched, which elicited a triumphant grin from the chuunin secretary.

Orochimaru led the way once more, Anko and I following obediently, as we strode up to the office door. Slit amber eyes met both of ours, silently ordering us to maintain composure. It made sense to do so, because if Orochimaru had any chance of taking us with him on the mission, we needed to have the bearing of perfect shinobi. This _was_ an S-rank from Satoshi, and even the slightest sign of childish behavior will sabotage our chances of getting in, even if the official mission rank was lower. Personally, I was hoping for a nice healthy C-rank, but there's no way Orochimaru would be called into service for something so below his payroll. If that was ever really the case, then I'm sure he'd leave the client a bleeding mess, at the very least. It was nice to daydream though.

My wandering attention snapped back to reality as the door was opened. The first thing I saw was the Hokage, and he did not look happy. But once he caught sight of Anko and I, the tension seemed to melt from his bearing. The skin around the Hokage's eyes relaxed and his broad shoulders dropped a minuscule amount. Was 'The Professor' actually worried about us? If so, then why?

Orochimaru-sensei ushered the both of us in and gave a genuine smile. I didn't believe it for a second. I _knew_ his true nature, and I won't allow my guard to lower around Orochimaru. I've been stepping on eggshells around him for so long, and I can keep going for as long as I need to. "Sit, Hariken, Anko." He said softly, gesturing to the two chairs in front of Hiruzen's desk. We sat next to one another and I wondered how much more different this meeting was going to be compared to the one earlier.

The Hokage gave a slight smile, "It is reassuring to see both of you children out of the Uchiha Compound in good form. I know it must not have been easy, but you two are here now and stronger from it." Hiruzen said. "I expect nothing less from future Konoha shinobi!" It was nice to hear some encouragement from the strongest man in the village. Sure, I had Anko and Kaa-chan, but it was better to have someone like the Sandaime Hokage say it to me. I returned his smile.

"This isn't some Earth-shattering meeting." He noted with humor, "I just wanted to personally see how both of you were doing, and give my old student a mission while he was around. Killing two birds with one stone." His expression soured slightly, "Unfortunately the rest of my day is filled with paperwork and meetings, so a bit of levity helps this old man through his day." He looked to Orochimaru and nodded, "I hope everything has gone well?" He asked.

"Of course, sensei." The snake said, finally settling into the chair. "Having students for myself is quite refreshing. The pay is less than being on active duty, but I do enjoy having Anko-chan and Hariken-kun around."

Hiruzen chuckled. "There has always been a downside to taking on a team, but I find the cherished memories to be more than worth the hit on my wallet." He shook his head fondly, "I won't ever forget what you, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were like as children, and I'm proud to say you've all grown into fine shinobi."

Orochimaru's eyes crinkled, "Thank you sensei." He said honestly.

The 'moment' was then ruined by the door being thrown open hastily by a man with an unruly blond mop of hair. "Sorry for my lateness Hokage-sama!" He said, not offering any pointless excuses and approaching Hiruzen.

Hiruzen chuckled and gestured to the only open chair. "Your client isn't in the village, and you just came back from a high-ranked mission. I think I can allow you some leeway, Minato-kun."

Minato… Namikaze Minato. I wanted to simultaneously rip my hair out in frustration, and gape at the man like a fish. This was the future Fourth Hokage, a legend in his own right and the father of the protagonist of this entire reality. I've got no luck at all, do I? I'm in a room with not one, not two, not even three geniuses, but _four_. The risks of me slipping up have never been higher. I didn't worry as much about letting up a little around Anko, because she knew some of my quirks. Like speaking in a weird language when I thought nobody was around. The Hokage, having the most experience in life would definitely notice something Anko would shrug off as 'just Hariken.'

If he got suspicious and called a Yamanaka here, then I was absolutely _screwed_.

The blond man looked relieved, "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I was just getting some help from Kushina-chan for a new fuuinjutsu design and had lost track of time." He finished sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hiruzen reached for a scroll he'd had sitting on his desk and nudged it forward, "There's no problem, Minato-kun. Once this mission is over, you'll get plenty of down time." He said. "At least this time you can bring your genin team with you. Obito has been loudly complaining about not having his normal jounin sensei."

The young man grinned at Hiruzen and took the mission scroll, "I like those kids, Hokage-sama. They had the makings of strong shinobi all on their own even before I met them. Every last one of them is loyal to a fault." He looked at Orochimaru, more specifically, the two kids on the far side of the Sannin. "It looks like you've found yourself some students too, ne Orochimaru?"

My sensei gave a predatory grin, "I couldn't have asked for better students."

The Hokage smiled, "Good. I'm glad I chose you to be their sensei." He said, pleased that his little plan with Orochimaru was working.

There was the sound of a wax seal being broken and I stole a glance at Minato, who had the mission scroll open. The blond-haired, blue-eyed jounin frowned slightly then looked at the Hokage, "I'm only making an observation here Hokage-sama, but isn't this a bit overkill?"

I looked to the robed man in the autumn years of his life, wondering what was going on. The Hokage shook his head seriously, "This may be a simple escort mission, but your client is very valuable to the village. Without him, Konoha would have likely not made it through the war with as little casualties as there was. Was losing a man like Hatake Sakumo not enough?" He pulled out his pipe, looking at it for a moment before hesitating and stowing it back into his robe. "Sometimes we shinobi forget how much the civilian and the worker aid us. This man your team and Orochimaru are escorting wishes to move to a location where one of his businesses is in. He's a hard worker, and a good man. I won't turn my back on someone who's helped Konoha so much. If he requests some of the best shinobi we have available, genin team or not, we will provide them for him."

Minato simply nodded, understanding. This was a 'giving back to the people' thing and a show of respect to those who supported the shinobi. The future Yellow Flash gave Anko and I a sideways glance, "And our… _client_ won't object to my team coming along?"

Hiruzen shook his head, "He knows that there's a possibility of getting a genin squad and their jounin leader. This isn't so highly ranked of a mission that I won't allow genin to be in it, especially ones as trained as yours." He said.

The scroll was rolled back up and passed to Orochimaru, who made sure to read it at an angle so we couldn't read what was on it. Tall people could be so mean sometimes, I'd know from experience. I can't wait to grow again, being a little shrimp of a kid sucks.

"Hokage-sama." Orochimaru said after reading the mission details, getting the village leader's attention. "Why not allow Anko-chan and Hariken-kun join in on this mission?"

Wait, what?

' _Is this really happening so soon? I expected the Maeda Reizo mission to come a bit later, not literally the same day… shinobi work fast, then.'_

Hiruzen lifted an eyebrow, "Why not? Neither of the kids are official Konoha shinobi. Academy students can't take missions, Orochimaru. You know this. Why the sudden interest?"

The black-haired legend reached into a pocket in his shirt, taking out a folded slip of paper. He passed it to the aging man who opened it up and scrutinized it closely. The Hokage looked at Orochimaru with a pensive look, "Are you certain Orochimaru? This more than just taking a genin team. This can very well become a five to ten year commitment." He said.

"I am aware, sensei." The Sannin said, eliciting a meeting of eyes between the two men. From what Orochimaru-sensei told me, he hadn't called the Hokage that in years. It must be serious, whatever it was.

Hiruzen took took another look at the paper, "Let's see. You've got the parental consent from Uroko-chan, a signature of academic approval and release from one Uchiha Katamari, and the stamp of legitimacy from the office in the Academy." The Hokage held the paper in both hands, channeling chakra so it visibly shone, and a red-inked stamp mark glowed blue. "It's all here."

The Hokage looked like he'd aged a few more years and nodded to Orochimaru. "I have full confidence in you Orochimaru." He said, reaching into his desk and rooting around. Eventually he came up with a stamp and ink. Hiruzen hesitated a second before stamping the paper, marking it with the official Hokage seal. He stood up from his chair and gave the slip back to the pale shinobi, who took it smoothly. "Take that sheet to get recorded in the archives after this meeting. Congratulations on becoming the master to two young apprentices, I'm sure Konoha will benefit from this arrangement."

Anko's hand snatched mine and squeezed harshly, and all I could do was squeeze back. This was what Anko only dreamed of, and it was finally happening. I felt so happy for my best friend. Orochimaru was her hero, and witnessing the final approval of the Hokage on what I knew to be coming had her on cloud nine. Heck, being here with her made me want to jump out of the chair and hug her, jumping up and down and squealing like a little girl.

Ahem. But I was a mature man, and there was no way I was thinking of such feminine things. Pssh, I wouldn't ever do something like that. Now where's a tree I can punch to feel manly again?

I was ecstatic too, because this means my survival in combat would be almost guaranteed. I wouldn't likely get killed by some random schmuck in the future due to the fact that I'd have extensive training from _the_ Snake Sannin. I'd always assumed that I'd get pawned off to some jounin who'd rather kill me than teach me after finishing the Academy.

But the good was never without a cost. Now Orochimaru has a legit excuse to get into my head. For all intents and purposes, he _owned_ Anko and I until _he_ called the apprenticeship finished. Knowing him, it's not going to be until he extracts every last nugget of knowledge from my brain. _'He got Kaa-chan to sign off on it, too. Orochimaru is going all in.'_

Minato looked shocked at what just happened, then realized something that I hadn't thought of. "That's clever, Orochimaru-san!" He said with a wide grin. "Getting them to be your apprentices to take them with you on the mission. Now there's no reason not to take them with us!"

Orochimaru chuckled and an extremely self-satisfied look came to his face, "Kukukuku! I always knew you were a smart one, Minato. As you said, I like these kids. I would rather not lose them to another jounin when they're already here with me now." His eyes glinted in the daylight pouring from the windows of the Hokage's office, "It would be a shame to lose all that we've worked for, only to get my dear students taken away from their favorite master. I daresay they wouldn't learn a thing from someone else, and be wasted in the village as subpar shinobi. No, with me, Anko and Hariken will become _great_." He finished with a grin.

The Hokage smiled at the picture his former student was painting. "Yes, under your guidance, I have no doubt these two will become fine shinobi." He cleared his throat and took his pipe out to smoke a bit. "Now that everyone here is going to be going, we can freely discuss what your mission entails." The man lit his pipe and took a puff before knitting his hands together in front of his face, a pose I recognized as him going into 'business mode.'

"Your client's name is Maeda Reizo. He's asked for an escort to Mujun town in the Rekka Province, where he has expressed some concern over the financial stability of the region. Reizo believes that the issue may take some time to resolve, so you're free to leave after getting him there. He's currently getting ready to leave in Dento village, so you should get there at a timely pace before heading out eastward." The Hokage said. He scratched his chin and exhaled some smoke into the air, "This is a fairly routine C-rank mission, one akin to what you've both been on a countless number of times." He remarked with humor. "But it's necessary, just like all those border patrols Jiraiya hates. Be professional about it. Reizo asked for Konoha's finest, and we won't disappoint one of our biggest suppliers."

Orochimaru smiled, remembering his companion's bellyaching. "Understood, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded, "Normally I would be worried with a high-priority man getting so close to Iwa's borders, but with the war finished and nonaggression pacts freshly signed, I can be at ease. I believe in you, let's make this go as smoothly as possible. You leave no later for Dento than noon tomorrow. Dismissed."

' _Man, Satoshi must've had some really good connections if he knew all of this beforehand…'_

 **\/**

* * *

I sneakily opened my window, clinging to the outside wall of the apartment we lived in. _'Okay, as long as Kaa-chan still thinks we're out with Orochimaru we're safe.'_ I thought. Anko crouched on the opposite side of the window, gesturing at me to hurry up. I gave her a shushing motion and backed off to let her in first. Ladies first and all.

When I entered into my room, I shut the window behind me and crept to my dresser. Everything had to be exactly like it would usually be for training with Orochimaru. Today was a Friday, so that meant a no-holds barred spar between Anko and I, then lunch with everyone, and by everyone I mean Ran, Kaa-chan, Orochimaru-sensei, Anko and I, at noon. I looked at the simple wristwatch on my right arm. _'11:30. Kaa-chan shouldn't be home yet.'_

Anko hovered at the door, waiting for the confirmation. I nodded, "We're clear, Anko-chan. Gear up and meet at the rendezvous." I whispered. She left, more quiet than a ghost. The plan was to get all of our equipment we'd use in a fight, then go to the training ground we often use. From there Anko and I would stroll back to the apartment like nothing had happened. Occasionally we'd scuff up each other's clothing or rub some dirt into our faces for realism. It was perfect.

"Back so soon Hariken-kun?"

I froze.

Well, there were wrenches thrown into every well-laid plan.

Slowly, I turned to face my mother, who stood casually leaning up against the wall in the corner I hadn't bothered to check. She raised the mug in her hand, "Tea, my son?"

I smiled weakly, grimacing internally from the thought of any more tea. I'd had enough to last a long, long time. "Hey, Kaa-chan. What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, "I dunno. Mikoto-chan got home early, so she didn't need little old Kaa-chan taking care of her precious Itachi any more. That boy is frighteningly bright for his age." She tilted her head, "Rather like you in that matter." My mother remarked. Flipping a lock of her blue hair, she scrutinized me, "All I was doing was going home when I decided to come through the training ground Orochimaru-san has taken temporary ownership of. To my shock, nobody was there." She made a mock gasp, "I was _so_ worried. What if you two got mugged? What if Hariken got himself irreparably hurt? I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

My face twitched. _'Okay Kaa-chan I get it.'_

She plowed on, "I had half a mind to walk right up to Hokage-sama and humbly request he let loose the search teams. Surely that would help me know what had happened to my dear lost son." She said, pointing a hand daintily at herself. "I-" She was cut off from her guilt trip by the door opening. "Oh, hello Orochimaru-san, I hope you can solve the mystery of where my son and his little friend went."

The man looked highly amused at the situation, and looked at his nails nonchalantly. "Oh, I don't know where they went, Uroko." He looked at me, knowing full well that I wouldn't throw him under the bus. "Why don't you tell your mother where you and Anko went. Surely you couldn't have gone out into the village all by yourself. You know well that Hokage-sama gave an order that you two were supposed to be kept in the Uchiha Compound."

Scenarios ran through my head, each one worse than the last. We were at Ichiraku Ramen, we went to train with Kakashi, we went to the Inuzuka compound to play with the ninken, we went to the Nara compound to play with the deer, we went to Yakiniku Q to play with the food, we went climbing on the Hokage monument, visiting the memorial stone… Abducted by aliens?

"We got a mission!" I blurted out. "The Hokage wanted to see Anko and I so he could give us a mission! He saw how well we were doing on his magic crystal ball and asked Orochimaru-sensei if he could escort us to his office."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Kukuku, that certainly was a quick one. Not very well thought out, but I have to give credit for coming up with a half-baked excuse so quickly." He turned to Kaa-chan, who was smiling behind her cup, "What do you think Uroko-san?"

"A good shinobi would have at least six different excuses pre-made depending on who they were talking to."

I whirled on her, "You knew!" I accused.

She snorted, "Of course I did. Orochimaru-san told me he was taking you two out somewhere nice for tea, and to meet with the Hokage for a mission. I'm honestly surprised you weren't called for one sooner. Kiri sends out six-year-olds out on missions all the time."

"Oh…"

She pointed to my bed, where two scrolls laid. "Here, I gathered up some basic mission supplies for you and Anko-chan." Kaa-chan shot me a look, "Make sure to memorize what's in there, because I'm not making another one for you both. From now on, you can do it yourself. This is a special occasion because it's your first mission."

Orochimaru laughed, "You're far too kind, Uroko. Let him make his own pack and suffer for it when he forgets something. It worked fine with that idiot Jiraiya when he didn't pack a tent as a genin. His misery over unpreparedness was music to my ears."

Kaa-chan rolled her eyes, "Trust me, this is only a one-time thing." She turned to me, "Get some sleep early, you've got a long few days on the road ahead of you."

I squirmed uncomfortably, "Thanks Kaa-chan." I murmured.

She nodded, "Before you go to bed, get Anko I've packed her a scroll so she doesn't do it. Night." She said as both adults left the room.

' _Night? That's it? I get the third degree while she just says to tell Anko?'_ I flopped on my bed and sighed, _'She's so troublesome sometimes.'_

 **\/**


	11. Chapter 11: Fire, Water, and

**Chapter 11: Fire, Water, and...**

 **AN: I really have no excuses as to why my chapters are always late, and I'm sure my lack of activity has prevented me from rising to notoriety or active public light. I really don't mind, it just feels good to put my ideas out there and show the world… Er, the _internet_ that I can do something. Posting a chapter always has my nerves firing in agonizing anxiousness though. I never did do very well with criticism, even constructive.**

 **To xanothos: Your review was ironic, because I was literally just editing when you sent your review. As you can see, I have not abandoned Juuichi and I don't plan to. I had a good chuckle. Thanks for that.**

 **I don't own Naruto. Review if you'd like.**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

 **"Attacks! (Translations!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

This was supposed to be a short escort mission out of the village, at least as far as high-priority clients were concerned. We were to head Northeast for a bit until we got to Dento village where Reizo was currently holed up in. Then we take him to Mujun town near the Western border of Hi no Kuni. Easy enough for shinobi both being considered for the Hokage spot and their teams.

At first, I was surprised to see only Kakashi on Minato's team. Anyone who knows the anime knows Team Minato is composed of Minato himself, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin. So when the future Hokage showed up with no one else but my silver-haired friend, I was a bit confused. The Hokage had even said that Obito was missing having Minato as a sensei. Either I was missing something with the timeline I had in going in my head, or something was wrong. Honestly, it's probably me. Whatever has happened so far seems to be compliant with the story. Then we have the fact that Reizo– and Satoshi, for that matter– never existed.

Worrying about what was really isn't the concern right now, though. There's other things to focus on. For example, tree hopping.

 **SNAP!**

"Ah, crap!"

The fall down to the forest floor was thankfully short, and I did manage to rebound nicely. Sadly, that didn't stop the snickering from my purple-haired friend. I mock-glared at her retreating form then took a running start to catapult myself back into the branches of Hi no Kuni's seemingly never ending forests.

Luck didn't seem satisfied with me falling from a rotted out tree limb and dictated something else happen. Just as I was about to leap up into the canopy my foot got caught in a root. The momentum I'd gathered from running sent me sprawling head over heels into the dirt.

For a second I coughed up dirt and groaned in that wheezing way that only people with the wind knocked out of them could.

I heard the pattering of sandals nearby and looked up to find myself in a perfect little circle of sunshine from between the gaps in the trees.

"Are we quite finished injuring ourselves?"

"Yes Orochimaru-sensei." I wheezed.

"Good. Now get up, you're making a fool of yourself. We have a mission to do."

"Yes Orochimaru-sensei."

I pushed myself to my feet and staggered a little before shaking the cobwebs out and starting my run up a nearby tree.

The reason I didn't continue on the ground wasn't a matter of not wanting to be left behind, it was a necessity. Shinobi in Konoha were smart, and they used the trees to not only remain unseen, but to conserve energy as well. Instead of constantly using one's legs to run across the uneven and root-riddled forest floor, they only had to make a single motion every few seconds or so to land and jump. It was far less tiring to go tree hopping than to run places. It was also why the Nara hated having to do long escort missions on foot with civilians. Less energy consumption turned into less effort having to be spent.

When I reached the height I was at previously, I was forced to play catch up with the rest of the group. Now I don't want to be tooting my own horn, but I caught up with them rather quickly. Within nine seconds to be exact. Toot toot!

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow as I fell in line next to him. "I guess those two years were good for something after all. You're faster now."

I grinned, "I trained my strengths and weaknesses, Kakashi. I've changed quite a bit in those years." Not to mention the new somewhat surprising thing I'd discovered because of Orochimaru. Hint hint: it had something to do with chakra expulsion and was as much a blessing as a curse.

Kakashi hummed. "Perhaps we could have a spar once this is all over."

"Purely for training purposes, of course." I agreed with a happy glint in my eye. Not in any way for relieving pent up stress or feeling the thrum of adrenaline in the veins. For 'Training.'

His innocent air wasn't fooling me. I wanted this. I was anticipating the spar so much my fingers were starting to twitch. _'Man there must be something wrong with me if the promise of a good fight is enough to make my entire day.'_ I reflected. "If what it was like before says anything about our spars, then we know one of us is going to spend some time in the hospital. Loser has to buy lunch and winner picks where?" I asked, putting the usual consequence of losing on the table.

"Of course. You'll be taking me to one of the most expensive places in the village, after all." He replied.

"Ooh, I wasn't even thinking about pre-battle banter until we actually fight. I'm game with starting a little early." Let's see… What to say… "I'm thinking one of Chouza-san's restaurants. The people working in those expensive places are snobby and they always spit in your food if you're blue and have scales. Maybe Yakiniku-Q? A lot of shinobi go there. I'll even let you treat Anko and Orochimaru-sensei."

Anko popped up next to us with a chakra-enhanced jump, having shamelessly listened in on the entire conversation. "C'mon think of something else, Blue. Yakiniku-Q doesn't have any dango."

I turned to her with a blank look on my face, "I'm not going to use my win so you can feed your addiction, Anko. You're lucky I haven't called in an intervention yet."

"I don't eat dango that much!" She protested.

If possible, my face become even more blank. "If Kaa-chan doesn't make some for you at least twice a week, you try to escape the Uchiha Compound and steal some yourself." I said dryly. She smiled fondly at the thought of getting her fix at all costs. "Or do you not remember the time I had to drag you by your ankles out of the hole you'd dug under the Uchiha Compound's wall? I'm pretty sure Fugaku-san is still mad about that."

"He is not! Otherwise he'd never let us visit Itachi." She said flippantly, "You still haven't convinced me that I have a dango addiction."

A fourth pair of shinobi sandals joined us three kids in our tree hopping conversation. "You were digging furrows into the dirt with your fingernails and yelling 'My dango! My dango!' to all who would bother to listen. You may have a problem, Anko-chan." Orochimaru said.

She blushed bright red and punched me in the shoulder. "Well Hariken takes forever in the shower and still calls his mom Kaa-chan!" She blurts out, trying to find a weak spot in my emotional armor after the assault on her.

"Do you know how hard it is to get grime out of _scales?_ It's not fun at all. I have to use, like, three different brushes." I say. "You try scrubbing every square inch of your body every day and tell me how long it takes."

Kakashi eye-smiles, "You still didn't deny the Kaa-chan part."

"And I won't." I retort coolly. "She's all I've ever had before I met you guys. I can thank her for most of the stuff in my life, being allowed on this mission included."

That shut them up for about three seconds.

Anko groaned, "Great, momma's boy killed the mood again. I was trying to have as much fun as I could before we pick up this Reizo guy. He seems like a huge stick in the mud."

' _He's going to be dead soon so why does it matter what he's like?'_ I thought. "Fine, you want to go back to digging up old dirt? Your trench coat is so long you can't stop tripping on it and Kakashi probably hasn't taken his mask off in at least a month."

My former sparring partner put his hands up in surrender, and I idly notice the scar in his palm where my tanto punched through. "Leave me out of this. You two started it, keep it with you two."

The final member of the squad joined us in tree hopping. Now there were five separate shinobi all using chakra to jump from branch to branch. I'm surprised one of us hasn't fallen… again. "He has a drawer full of masks, almost more of them than any other article of clothing he owns. How else does it look like it always stays in perfect condition?" Minato said, throwing his student right under the bus.

We were approaching a common trade road with a caravan full of oxen pulling wagons along. We would have to make the very large jump to get to the trees on the other side of the road or move far off to the side to cross over at a branch that spanned the entire gap. Having to stop didn't particularly appeal to us.

I see Kakashi's eyebrows lower dangerously. "Yeah? Well Minato-sensei can't fini-" He cut himself off, looking at the ground below. Finish what, pray tell? I half don't want to know what Minato couldn't finish. We were digging up potentially embarrassing dirt on one another after all.

Something felt wrong. The bovine load-bearers of the caravan were nervously whipping their tails about and making noise but the drivers didn't notice. I closed my eyes and my thermal vision saw many red forms squatting in large clumps behind the bushes by the side of the road. Ah, the oxen smelled them. A quick glance to either side confirmed that everyone in the group found them as well. I opened my eyes and saw that it would be difficult not to miss the band of men barely concealing themselves behind the shrubbery. Why I searched with my infrared vision at all is a mystery.

Taking a quick glance around at them, I guessed that there was at least thirty people, bandits by the shabby look of their clothing. Their gaunt, dirty faces belayed a distinct lack of health and opportunity to wash themselves. Some of them were eyeing the trail of wagons with longing and restlessness, and even I could tell they were getting tired of waiting for a good time to strike.

As one, we stopped tree hopping and descended on a branch large enough to hold all of us. I sat there awkwardly as a silence settled over all of us. Minato and Orochimaru were sending discreet hand signals to one another and maintaining eye contact. A few times, either man would nod or shake their head. Eventually they seemed to come to an agreement and they Orochimaru-sensei disappeared with a chuckle and a cloud of green smoke the same shade as the leaves. With no other authority figure to look to, Anko and I turned to Minato.

He leaned in close and whispered so quietly his words were all but inaudible. I had to lean in close to hear what the blond had to say. "Orochimaru-san has gone to the caravan leader to inform him of the situation. Once he comes back, we'll spread out and cover as much ground as possible for when the bandits attack." The future Hokage pins me with a look, "Hariken, what's your elemental affinity and do you know anything that can cover a wide area?" He asks quietly.

He was in a no-nonsense mode, which made total sense considering that the lives of civilians were at stake right now. It was a pity because I'd wanted to keep my affinity a secret until the spar. "Suiton. Very strong affinity. I know **Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Violent Water Wave)** or I could make some **Mizu Bunshin (Water Clones)** and have them do something." I breathed.

"Can you detonate your bunshin yet?"

I shook my head, "I'm not good enough at doing that to cause any damage quickly. They explode one at a time." Explosions are not something to mess with idly, especially when taking water into account. Concussive force underwater is really a force to reckon with. "I can dispel them simultaneously though, make the bandits all wet."

Minato shook his head, "Use Mizurappa, we need to get something Kakashi can channel **raiton (lightning)** chakra through. After Kakashi makes his move, you, Kakashi, and I will close in and eliminate them. I'll find one for interrogation, so use lethal force. I assume you've killed before?" He asked.

I nodded grimly. Over my two years with Orochimaru-sensei, he made sure to make Anko and I intimately familiar with death. Killing others and watching people die, specifically.

I can still remember the first time he brought me alone to the prison deep underneath Konoha on one of our infrequent times out of the Uchiha District. I had to watch in horror as he led me to the execution chamber and forced me to stand directly in front of the criminals as they begged for mercy before dying. The life leaving their eyes still brought nightmares occasionally.

Orochimaru's cruelty only increased when he had me perform an execution myself. I'd tried refusing, but he put me into a genjutsu so real and so powerful it felt like I was in the Tsukuyomi. I was then forced to feel what it was like to kill. It was sickening, and I felt ill after the genjutsu ended.

After Kama, I hadn't wanted to kill like that again, but Orochimaru gave me an ultimatum. Either I kill that prisoner- that _worthless criminal_ \- in the chair, or be forced to be the subject of Orochimaru's sick imagination with each genjutsu getting progressively worse. Believe me… he had some gruesome methods of killing in his head. I only lasted for seven killings until cracking and deciding to put to death a man who could have very well been innocent. He could have had a family, and I ended him like a feral dog.

After I killed the criminal in that chair, Orochimaru pulled me into his chest and embraced me like a father would and apologized. I'd always felt negatively towards his personality and lack of regard for human life, but I had never felt so revolted by the man as I did then.

I knew he did the same thing with Anko, because he gave me two days off and mysteriously disappeared with her. When they returned, Anko was noticeably shaken and pale, but her attitude was more resolute than ever. She wanted Orochimaru as a sensei, I knew this, and she would take it to however far he demanded. I hoped that it wouldn't be too far.

My attention was torn from my thoughts when Minato turned to Anko and spoke, "Anko, Orochimaru told me that you're with him. Meet him in the oak tree twenty meters to our left. Plan 1DGD." She nodded with a firm face.

Kakashi looked confused, but there was no time to explain to him the plans Team Orochimaru had come up with. I would tell him later, but I recall what that particular attack combination was.

Each number, one through five, corresponded with the element of the first jutsu and each letter stood for a jutsu. This combo could be done alone by Orochimaru, as could most of the combos, but it was faster with another person. It consists of an earth wall erected by Orochimaru, then a katon jutsu (preferably **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire release: Great Fireball Jutsu)** ), and finally a **Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind release: Great Breakthrough) ** to turn the flames into a massive conflagration of death and destruction. With no other way for the fire to go but out, the combo was effective for covering a linear area.

I fingered my left sleeve where my tanto was sheathed. This wasn't part of the mission, but that wasn't the point. This is about saving a civilian caravan, if we help rid the countryside of some bandits it's an added bonus.

"The signal is Orochimaru's first jutsu or a bandit movement, whichever is first. Go." Minato ordered.

The three of us moved into the trees on the other side of the road using a branch that spanned the entire gap while Anko split off to the left. I really didn't like the idea of leaving her all alone to fend for herself until Orochimaru-sensei came back, but the bandits didn't know we were here yet. They would though, when we decide to stop them from even getting close to the wagons.

Kakashi and I settled in next to one another, staying close to coordinate our attacks. If done correctly, our combined attacks should be good enough to take out a decent number of them. I say 'decent number' because I don't dare put enough confidence in our abilities to say they'd all go down in one shot, even if they were only mere bandits. We were pretty much genin, after all.

Now that we were on the other side of the wagon train, I could see that it wasn't just the thirty bandits from what I saw before. I estimated there were at least thirty per side. One can't expect a pair of genin to take down a pack of so many grown men by themselves.

Good thing we had Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru of the Sannin here, because three kids didn't stand much of a chance against roughly sixty men.

A motion below caught my eye, and I saw one of the bandits, a scrawny man with a ragged bandanna on his head, stand up and dig a whistle from beneath his shirt. He lifted it to his lips and took a deep breath. Before he blew the whistle, Minato threw a shuriken with frightening accuracy at the man's hand.

He dropped the whistle with a cry and Minato didn't waste any time. "Hariken, go!" He whispered quickly. I idly noticed the sound of another whistle from the other side of the caravan and the sight of a tall wall of rock rising up to protect the civilians and their cargo.

I made three quick handseals and inhaled sharply, feeling the suiton chakra coalesce within my lungs. " **Suiton: Mizurappa! (Water Release: Violent Water Wave!)** " I said before releasing my attack. Water tore from my mouth in a pressurized stream, knocking the standing whistle-man to the ground and pushing a good deal of his comrades down to join him. Surely, Mizurappa was aptly named due to the sheer amount of force it generated. Kinda like a firehouse putting down protesters.

Making no waste of chakra, I swept my head from side to side, jetting the water at as many bandits as possible, drenching them and ensuring that they'd conduct electricity just fine. They too, fell to the ground.

When I ran out of breath, I stopped the flow of water and looked to my silver-haired friend. Kakashi nodded, performed several handseals, and pointed his palms at the bandits, **"Raiton: Raikou no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Chain Lightning Jutsu)"**

Twin streaks of electricity surged from Kakashi's hands and hit the closest bandit to us, one who managed to stand up from my attack. He stiffened and started convulsing before letting out a scream of pain. The lightning jumped from him to another bandit, and another, and another, and another, until around half of the vagabonds were on the ground shaking uncontrollably and letting out yells of agony.

Kakashi looked visibly drained, with sweat streaming down his face. "That was an A-rank raiton Jutsu." He panted. "Without your jutsu as a conductor, I would never have enough chakra for that. As it is, I barely have any left."

With a stony face, I drew my tanto from its sheath concealed under my left sleeve. "It will have to be close quarters combat then." I said. Normally my blood would be racing with the thrill of battle, but this was different. This is no spar, and lives will be ended this day.

In retrospect, was Orochimaru right in having me execute that man and putting me through all of his genjutsu? He was starting to desensitize me to death. Knowing this, I don't know how to feel about him. Was he torturing me for his own sadistic pleasure and to know the secrets I held? Or did he really have my best interests in mind as a teacher to a student? Either thought is scary.

I put these thoughts from my mind as I jumped down from the tree and prepared to draw blood for the survival of innocents. To protect as many people as I could so they didn't have to experience the horrors of the world.

Funny how quickly my desire to protect got twisted into killing others.

The man with his back turned was first to be marked for death. I darted up to him utilizing my superior speed to close the distance, then stabbed deeply into his kidney. He screamed as I pulled the tanto out with a wrenching motion. It would be a long and painful death, but with my size disadvantage it was the easiest spot to strike at from behind.

With my presence known, I was forced to dodge a swipe from a rusted chain a bandit was wielding. I then ducked a sword swing and heard the chain man yell in pain. Capitalizing on his distraction, I jammed my tanto under his ribcage and kicked the inside of his knee to send him down.

I was about to turn to attack the bandit with the sword, but I suddenly got blinded by a yellow flash. Reflexively, I shielded my eyes to block the light before realizing what I was currently missing due to what amounted to a flash grenade: Namikaze Minato himself in action.

A sudden hush descended and I cursed myself for getting blinded so stupidly in the middle of a battle. Blinking rapidly, I managed to regain some sight, and gawked at what I saw.

It was over. Every bandit but one was dead. Kakashi and I took out some in the beginning, and I personally killed one and left one for dead, but what Minato did in the span of seconds was… _terrifying._ I don't know why he let us attack at all when he could have decimated every last one of these men singlehandedly. Our involvement was so _useless_.

The future Hokage approached the living bandit trying desperately to escape on his hands and knees, and kicked him onto his side. A single kunai was pressed against the man's throat and he let out a whimper. Without looking behind him Minato said, "Meet up with Orochimaru-san and the caravan leader. I'm going to take care of this and find out if the caravan is in any more danger from these thugs' friends."

Obeying my orders, I turned and walked to the road.

 **\/**

* * *

The entire Konoha team stood in a companionable circle with the leader of the trade caravan. He was a squat, broad, dark-skinned man with a bushy grey mustache and very fine clothing. The quintessential jolly fat man, but he had the physique of one having a shortage of food. He was all smiles, even when talking of the less than favorable circumstances that he come from in Kirigakure no Sato. "Yes, yes!" He was saying. "Due to Kiri's recently ended civil unrest and the chaos left over by the Second War, Mizu no Kuni has been deprived of many vital resources. Even food crops have been dangerously low. The people are blaming the Kekkei Genkai users for this, and no matter how hard they try they can't convince the people of reason."

He leaned back on the white horse he was perched on. It was a scrawny thing much like the rest of the people in the caravan, but it was obviously well cared for and its coat shone gloriously. "I have no problems with Kekkei Genkai clans, and I do not want the rest to fall like the old Umi no Dokuhebi or the Kaguya did. So I gathered up as many of my fellow merchants as I could and loaded up the wagons. The nonaggression pacts signed by all the Hidden Villages would be good enough to keep us from harm." He said.

The man turned to me with bright, happy eyes. "Filled with the hope of a safe journey and valuables and products only found in Kiri, we headed to Konoha for needed goods. Imagine my surprise when I saw an Umi no Dokuhebi still alive and kicking! I was happy, oh yes! An old and respected Mizu no Kuni clan is still alive!" He laughed joyously. "We are so close to Konoha and the food we need. For my village and country, I'm willing to bend my pride to save us. No price is too high when we are actively dying."

He shook his head and grasped Orochimaru's hands in a fervent handshake, "I cannot thank you all enough for saving our caravan!" My sensei looked less than pleased to be in such casual contact with a stranger, but the merchant didn't seem to care. He was just too happy. The man called off to the side and snapped twice at someone in the distance. A thin man in white robes approached the merchant leader with a large treasure chest in his arms, tottering dangerously. "Please, accept these gifts for saving us." The merchant said. He opened the chest from atop his mount and reached in.

To Kakashi, the man handed a bundle that clinked with the sound of metal. "For you I have a brace of Kiri kunai. Your hunched shoulders and slinking around reminded me of how our assassins moved, so I think you'd make good use of these, yes?" My friend tucked the bundle under an arm awkwardly and thanked him.

The merchant responded by saying it was the least he could do, and turned to Anko, whom he gave a vial of dark red liquid. "This is a tricky poison that makes the target addicted to it while it kills them at the same time. I have a shinobi friend who loves to buys this poison from my shops! It is a long-term poison, so I trust that you use it properly."

Minato tried protesting when the merchant urged the horse to him, but he would have none of it. "I saw that flashy thing you did." He said with a sly grin. "It looks very deadly, shinobi-san. It lacks a personal flair though, yes it does." The man held out a scroll, "In this scroll are special kunai. You looked like you needed something that looks good for your attacks, so these prongs on the sides should meet that need." Again, Minato tried refusing the gift, but he got the scroll shoved under his nose. "Please, shinobi-san. I will not have you refuse this. My people have suffered for a long time, they don't need these weapons."

Grudgingly, the blond took the scroll. The merchant gave a dazzling smile and reached in for something to give to Orochimaru. His hand eventually emerged from the chest with a rather thick book. "Here, Orochimaru-san. I have a book full of trustworthy contacts for you. These men are good for any kind of business you can think of in Mizu no Kuni, from dry cleaning to providing a safe place to hide."

My sensei raised an eyebrow and took the book. "Interesting…"

The man clapped and laughed, "Wonderful! I'm glad you like it."

I admit, I felt a bit nervous when the man's black eyes focused on me. The look he sent me was… fond? Orochimaru-sensei narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Ah, here we have the best for last. I knew the Umi no Dokuhebi well. They were good friends, and I was sad to hear they'd been killed. It is better now that I know they live! If there are any more survivors, tell them Yota-san says hello from Kiri!" I nodded and he picked up the final item in the chest, giving a glare to the man bearing the treasure chest. The thin man in the robes bowed and departed, unfazed by the man's harshness.

Yota had me hold a hand out, and he placed an ornate metal scroll container into it. With his thick dark-skinned fingers, he closed my hand over the tube. "Take this jutsu scroll. I saw you using suiton earlier. I do not know what is in the scroll, but it was given to me by my oldest shinobi friend, an Umi no Dokuhebi, funnily enough, before the Mizukage slaughtered your clan." He looked a bit guilty for a moment, "I had taken everything of value and loaded it into my wagons to sell so Mizu no Kuni could survive this coming winter. Not even my most treasured gifts to my family were spared."

With a new happiness, he grinned, "I'm glad to give this scroll to its rightful owner. From your clan it came, and to your clan it returns! Good luck, Umi no Dokuhebi-san."

Sitting upright, the merchant from Kiri named Yota turned his horse back to the column of wagons. Once he reached the front, he twisted and gave a smile, "Goodbye Konoha shinobi! If you ever need help in Kirigakure, call for Yota-san, yes? I will come to help you for what you did for me!"

With that, he kicked his heels into the horse and started up the procession of oxen and wagons to continue their journey.

I smiled while still holding the scroll, "I hope he makes it to Konoha all right." I said to Anko. She returned the smile and nodded.

"He was a little weird, but he seemed like a nice guy."

 **\/**

* * *

Now back in the trees, the team was drawing close to the first stop. By Minato's guess, we had about five minutes of travel until we reached the small town Reizo was in.

The two jounin seemed to be deep in discussion, talking lowly enough that only a low droning was heard from them. Anko, Kakashi, and I were slightly behind them, spread far enough apart to not become targets of an area of effect jutsu but close enough to help one another if need be. By the look of the sweat darkening the cloth of Kakashi's hitai-ate, it seems he still wasn't recovered from that high-tier jutsu he used.

Before I went to move closer to him, Orochimaru-sensei suddenly dropped back from where he was next to Minato, his face grim. I saw Minato look back at me with a smile for a second before going back to taking point. My sensei coughed gently to get my attention, the sound strangely sharp and echoing unnaturally. "Once more, it seems you have been put into danger. That man Yota knows what you are." He said, "He does not strike me as one who can hold his tongue."

"What does that mean?" I ask, curious. Yota seemed like a close-lipped person to me, but that was just a first impression. Orochimaru-sensei was more experienced at reading people though, so in this case, he was probably right.

He glanced at me from the corner of an eye and I was reminded how reflective his yellow eyes were. Were they always so shiny? "He'll return with good news to a village where such is a scarcity. The word of your clan surviving the bloodline purges will spread like wildfire and your chance of survival in Konoha will be far lower." He said with downturned lips.

My blood ran cold, all idle thoughts on Orochimaru's appearance forgotten.

Kiri didn't know Kaa-chan and I were still alive, that hunter-nin that Kaa-chan defeated, Kogoemasu, made sure of that when she ran away to Nami no Kuni. Once Kiri finds out, who knows what Yagura will decide to do about it? I frowned, adopting a similar expression to the man beside me. "What do you think will happen Orochimaru-sensei? Even though I come from Mizu no Kuni, I've been isolated from the world outside the Uchiha Compound for two years. A lot can happen in that time."

He was silent as a response and we simply hopped for several minutes. Eventually he spoke again. "I see Kiri doing several things, and all of them worrisome for you and your mother. You heard from Yota that there's been a recent end to the unrest in Mizu no Kuni. The discovery of a long-thought extinct kekkei genkai clan could give motivation to those who support the kekkei genkai users. Then the civil war could start up again. The Mizukage also could try to barter with Konoha to get the Umi no Dokuhebi back, if only to kill you off completely." His face smoothed itself out into its normal expression, "I believe Hokage-sama will not let you go so easily however, even if all of the village elects to give you back to Kiri. Your mother plays a larger role in this than you think"

"Kaa-chan?"

Orochimaru inclined his head, "Uroko knows a great deal of the secrets of Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni as the former student of the Mizukage. Simply because of her, they will try their hardest to get you both away from Konoha. If that fails," He sighed sadly, more unhappy I suppose at the potential loss of the secrets than at any human connection, "Kiri is likely to try to kill both of you."

I grunted unhappily. My sensei noticed this and grinned eerily at me. "This only means I'll be training you and Anko-chan even harder. We can't have the Mizukage's dogs coming in the night to assassinate you, now can we?"

Deciding on a smart-alek response, I hummed in agreement. "Anko and I haven't been collapsing after training lately, so I say you're either going soft or we can take more." I say, intentionally goading the man.

He chuckles in that way he does whenever something below him is in pain. Orochimaru looks at me like I was a rabbit trying to intimidate a velociraptor. It was vaguely discomforting. "Kukukukuku! Of course, _apprentice_. I'll remember this when you're bleeding on the ground and begging for a rest."

We hopped for a moment in silence before he fell back to watch our flank. I looked back when he made that gut-turning laugh again. There was a malevolent glint to his eyes.

"Our first lesson will be on genjutsu, Hariken, since you seem to be unable to identify or break free of them no matter how hard you try." He said smoothly.

My eyes widened and my hands immediately snapped into the ram seal, "Kai!" I barked. I knew something was up when he coughed! His eyes aren't that shiny either! I'm an idiot!

The world swirled back into focus and I found myself standing on a dirt road with a group of civilians peering at me strangely. Quickly, I looked around to see multiple cabins arranged on either side of the road with shinobi outposts situated at the front and back of the row of houses. After a few seconds, I determined I wasn't left behind and my shoulders slumped pathetically. "Dangit." I murmured, palming my face. We'd arrived while I was away in genjutsu-land.

My mutter seemed to evoke a reaction as hyena-like laughter erupted from beside me. I whirled around to spot Anko doubled over and clutching at her stomach, tears flowing from her eyes. "Y-you should've seen your face, Blue" She wheezed. "You were standing there and doing squats for so long with this intense look on your face. I've never seen someone look so constipated while exercising before!"

Doing squats? Did I miss something? I looked past Anko to see my other friend trying to look stoic, but failing miserably with an eye-smile. "Kakashi… what happened?"

He made an awkward coughing noise, likely stifling laughter, then trained his eyes on me still grinning under that fool mask of his. "Orochimaru-san put you in a genjutsu where you and he were tree-hopping. He said it was for training and to tell you something. Then told Anko," He gestured to my female friend, who was coming down from her fit of laughter but still gave the occasional giggle. "That he was stepping it up when we got home."

I nodded, figuring as much, "But… squats." I said doggedly.

He gave me an all too innocent eye-smile. "It may or may not have been suggested to Orochimaru-san to keep you in the genjutsu for an extra ten minutes while he and Minato-sensei located our client."

The look I sent Kakashi was one of utter betrayal, and I was about to turn away to sulk somewhere when a rather rude man made his opinion known.

"Kids?!" The man said, and despite not being currently turned to see him I could hear the sneer in his voice. "I was told that I was getting the best Konoha could offer for this mission and they send me kids?"

Being a diplomatic man, Minato tried to interject but was interrupted by the first speaker. "No, I don't want to hear it. I'm one of the most important people in Hi no Kuni. Without me, you shinobi couldn't get arms or equipment. The least Sarutobi could get me was four jounin!"

Finally, I decided to turn to the loud man. His voice was grating on my ears. To my dismay, this was actually Maeda Reizo. His silver hair and snobby face matched the picture from Satoshi's office perfectly. He surprisingly didn't have fine robes on, but neutral-colored travel gear. Good for staying unseen and long hikes.

Again my shoulders dropped, this time in dread of the long mission ahead of us. It didn't matter if it only took a day, having to deal with this guy would make it long just with his presence.

Reizo turned his nose up at us. "I won't have these pests risking my life, Minato, Orochimaru." The lack of honorifics made me wince. While Orochimaru-sensei couldn't care less about things being tacked onto the end of his name, I knew where I was getting my training from and won't forget it anytime soon. The way this guy acted could rub anyone the wrong way, and I don't ever want to see an angry Sannin until I am strong enough to deal with one. I know it'll be a long time, but if a genin can become Hokage, then nothing will stop me from rising to S-rank to ensure my dream.

Reizo put a hand up and shoo'd us. "Make them go back to the holes they came from. It's because of these children playing shinobi that you're late enough as it is. I expected the Konoha team to be here early this morning, not several hours past noon!"

While he was irritating, I had far more experience in brushing off snide jerks like this than other people my age. I simply frowned slightly in annoyance at the man's diatribe. We had to act professional. Or I did, at least. I _did_ want to leave the Uchiha Compound occasionally, and acting like a good little shinobi for the duration of this mission would prove I'm levelheaded enough to take the responsibility on.

Anko, however did not share my sentiments. She growled at Reizo and stalked forward, wrenching her shoulder from my grip after I tried holding her back. Oh well, at least it can be said that I tried. She was stubborn, and it's not like I didn't want someone to tear into Reizo. Just because I have a higher tolerance for people like him, doesn't mean I'm not affected by them.

"Kukukuku… Maeda Reizo, you don't realize that these three _are_ the best Konoha has to offer." That stopped Anko dead on her tracks with wide eyes and I stilled, focusing on the sly grin of my sensei. Praise like that from Orochimaru was like being told that Jiraiya had utmost respect for women and wouldn't dare infringe on their privacy. In short, completely unbelievable.

A scoff tore from Reizo as he looked at us incredulously, "These three?! They're just cannon fodder hopped up on dreams of making it big! I lived through the War, hell, I supplied it! I know how it really is out there."

I lifted an eyebrow. _'Now I'm not the most experienced person out there, but I know that's an awful jaded way to look at things.'_ I thought, looking to the other Konoha shinobi in the outposts nearby. _'He's treading on a touchy subject.'_

To prove my point, Minato narrowed his eyes. "Reizo-san, while there were child soldiers fighting in the Second Shinobi World War, they were all strong enough to fight. The Academy's standards were much more strict back then, and with war being actively waged we didn't let students graduate until they could handle it." The blond said. He then moved to stand behind the three of us and put his hands on Kakashi and Anko's shoulders. "Let's not forget that Konoha doesn't send genin out without having their assigned jounin."

I cross my arms despite the fact that intimidation really didn't work for someone as young as I am. "What do you have to be so worried about anyway?" I ask pointedly. "The war is over. The other villages are following nonaggression treaties, so the only thing we have to worry about is a couple bandits." Of course, that wasn't true, but he didn't know that his own guard detail would be the ones to stab him in the back.

Orochimaru, doing something unusual for him, patted Reizo on the shoulder. "Hariken is right, and if you knew who we are, you would think differently about sending us back."

The aging silver-haired snob scoffed and tossed his lanky hair. "I need protection, and I hired an _elite_ team from Konoha to escort me across Hi no Kuni while being quiet and not asking questions." There was a peeved look in his eyes and he pushed the expensive-looking silver glasses up his nose. "And what I got was a blue lizard freak, a whore in training, and some runt who's too scared to show his own face!" His face scrunched up, "You were late, too. I have very important business to attend."

Anko scowled, "Hey, you jerk! We were late because we were protecting the first caravan coming in from Mizu no Kuni since before the Bloodline Purges! If we didn't save them, an entire country would've starved to death!" Maybe an exaggeration, but then again, what do I know?

"So? I wanted protection for _myself._ That's why I requested the best Konoha had to offer." Reizo said caustically. He leaned down to her level, "Does this mean we're going to help every little birdy that falls from its nest?" He asked with faux sweetness. His face colored, "Get over it, girl! The mission was to help me, not them. They can rot in hell for all I care!"

Orochimaru shook his head and chuckled, "These three are more than capable of killing you individually, and just took down one of the largest concentrations of outlaws seen since the end of the war. You want to send away the ones who assisted in killing over fifty men? Fine, I'll just let the next pack of bandits take you when Minato and I are occupied with the others." He turned to the blond. "Isn't that right?"

He nodded to his fellow jounin, "Orochimaru-san is right. Nobody expects the young to be dangerous. They could easily defeat any overconfident enemy just because they get underestimated. Because of that, they're possibly more dangerous than we are."

For a moment, the man seemed to be struggling with something. He looked to have come to a decision and threw his hands up. "Fine! Let them stay. If they die, it won't be on my head." He warned. He stalked off to a nearby house, Minato following him to make sure he didn't do anything.

Anko didn't look happy at having to share oxygen with Reizo and I put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. She huffed in annoyance once more, but turned to me with a small smile. The look I sent her said that I understood her feelings completely. This wasn't going to be fun for any of us.

A few minutes of standing around later, our client and target came back to us with a pack slung on his back and a scowl etched onto his face. As if we had been doing so all of our lives, the Konoha team flowed into formation around him. For now it was Orochimaru-sensei taking point. Reizo looked around him at us and grumbled under his breath before starting to walk out of the small village.

The three of us youngsters shared the same exact look with each other. This was going to be a long mission.

 **\/**

* * *

It was nighttime two days after we picked up the irritable merchant, and moonlight beamed down onto us through clear skies. I was laid out in the sleeping bag Kaa-chan had been so nice to pack for me inside of the two-person tent she'd also packed. She'd put it in there with the intention of having one person on guard duty at all times. Right now though, there was a little more than three people. Fortunately, every single one of us packed one. Kakashi, Orochimaru-sensei, Minato, Anko, Myself, and even Reizo had one rolled up in his backpack. It was a bit much, I do admit, but having six tents was better than one or none at all.

Now that I was on my actual first mission, I can say that I much preferred travelling the shinobi way. Progress with a civilian client was frustratingly slow, and having to be on high alert all the time in case of an ambush really grated on the nerves. I had to deal with it though, because that sharp feeling of alertness wasn't unfounded.

I'd taken to watching Reizo while I was behind him. He had a peculiar twitchy air to him, and whenever he wasn't verbally assaulting someone, mostly the younger portion of the team, he was glancing around like he expected an attack at any moment. I didn't trust him, especially because of what Satoshi said about him sending messages to the western countries and how much power Satoshi claimed he had. Something was definitely up.

I sighed to myself.

Apparently it wasn't to myself enough because the person I was sharing a tent with groaned longsufferingly. "Jeez Blue, you've been laying there and sighing for the past ten minutes. Mind sharing with the rest of the world what's bouncing around in that empty skull of yours so the rest of us can get some sleep?"

"You're the only other person in here Anko." I pointed out.

I could feel irritation coming off of her in waves. It was fun winding her up sometimes. "That's not the point!" She hissed. I smiled. "And get that stupid grin off your face. I know you're doing it, even if I can't see you."

I sighed again and threaded my fingers together atop my stomach. "It's Reizo. He's really sketchy. Haven't you seen him? When he's not talking, he's always looking around. People don't just do that Anko. You know what Orochimaru-sensei says, anyone looking around like that is either paranoid or is planning something. I don't think Maeda Reizo is a paranoid person."

"Yeah," She agreed, "I saw it too. It's a good thing we'll be done having to deal with him after this mission though."

I grunted. Being done with this man would be a blessing of great proportion. He was not a nice man. I understand Satoshi's reluctance for hiring him and sending out the order to have him killed. Other than the logical reasons of economic collapse, widespread starvation, blah, blah, blah; Reizo was not fun to be around. Anko was completely right about him being a stick in the mud. Anything more than a whisper earned us a mighty glare from behind silver-framed glasses, as if our volume was what was causing everything bad in the universe.

No, some of that could be attributed to the very same man that was shooting dirty looks at us.

With nothing spoken for the next few minutes, I heard Anko give a small praise to Kami for shutting me up and turning over to sleep.

I shook my head and followed her example, thinking about what might happen as my eyes drifted shut.

It only felt like I blinked when I was being shook awake by somebody. My eyes were blurry, so I used thermals to look around and saw a triangular patch of cooler area on the face of the person shaking me. Kakashi. I silently hummed my thanks and left the sleeping bag open for him to climb into. It was only common courtesy. Some nights in Hi no Kuni could get chilly, even in the summer. Besides, it was my turn to do guard duty anyway.

The reds, blues, greens, and yellows of my clan's unique sixth sense greeted me outside of the tent. Now that I was outside of the warm shelter, the fresh air cut into my bones. I gave a small shiver and shook myself loose to get the blood flowing.

Fully awake now, I made a handseal to create four mizu bunshin and directed them to stand by the tents. In the event of an attack, they'd alert the others. Reizo's one would dispel right on top of him and drench him while the others would be more kind about it, but that was besides the point. Had I a large enough chakra pool, I'd have made some **kage bunshin (shadow clones)** to see what it was like, but alas, a jinchuuriki I was not.

Finally unable to take the anticipation any longer, I took out the scroll Yota had gifted me. We were in a clearing, which was rather stupid for security purposes but Reizo _insisted_ on making camp there. To make matters worse, the moon was painfully bright tonight. I would have little to no ability to look into the treeline for hostiles without eyes adjusted to the darkness. Luckily, I had an anatomical and physiological advantage in the thermal vision, which was probably why I was chosen tonight. Light and dark made no difference when I could see heat signatures.

For two whole days, I'd been itching to open this thing, eager to learn anything I could about the deceased clan I belonged to. There was always someone else around that could nosily peek at clan secrets and I didn't want to risk that. Now, the time had come.

Sharp nails broke the wax seal on the metal tube, and I uncapped and unrolled the scroll inside it to find… nothing. I almost groaned aloud. _'Oh, Kami above, please don't tell me this was one of those 'The power was within you all along' clichés.'_ That would've really stuck in my craw.

I sighed and closed my eyes, deciding to get on with the thermal all-nighter while I was still awake enough to have a somewhat positive mood.

I inclined my head downward and had to bite a knuckle hard, really hard, to stop from make a sound of frustration this time. While it wasn't one cliché, it most certainly was another.

In clearly-written kanji, I saw fiery-red script on the scroll, visible only to my thermal vision. Above that was a strange circular symbol. Kinda like a blob that looked vaguely wave-like, but being completely glowing red it could be anything really. My teeth grit together. It was so typical, so accursedly _typical_ of clan shinobi to make everything written exclusive to their progeny. It was enough to drive a person crazy.

The Uchiha had that one tablet, wherever the heck it was, that could only be read with the sharingan, the Hyuuga probably had something similar, and just about every clan with a sensory Kekkei Genkai had their secrets only their clan could read. It's only fitting that I'd get something like that too.

I stilled and furrowed my brow at the red-hot characters on the paper, then held it to my cheek to find that they weren't hot to the touch at all. _'That makes no sense at all. Thermal vision is based on the idea that an individual is seeing things on the thermal spectrum, as in hot or cold. Something looking like it is hot, but has no heat to it shouldn't be possible.'_

You know what? Screw it. I'm just going to chalk it up to one of those bullcrap 'It's CHAKRA!' phenomena. There were plenty enough of them that this could be written off as another.

There was really a time and place to learn new and surprising things about something you thought you'd figured out already. Standing in the dewy grass in the middle of the night in the middle of a mission really wasn't the best for either.

The 'hot' script on the scroll shone so innocently on the scroll, the light unbelievably tantalizing. I glanced around to see if anyone was watching me before looking down at it.

 _If you're reading this,_ it read, _then that means you must be an Umi no Dokuhebi. If you're not then I suggest you visit a doctor. There has to be something seriously wrong with you if you can see what's on this scroll. Since I have my doubts someone not from my clan can read this, I am assuming you are in fact, one of us._

 _In that case, hello fellow clansman-or-clanswoman! You have found the master scroll to everything that is Umi no Dokuhebi! This scroll was probably written some time ago for you, but I'm writing it right now. I'm giving it to a good friend of mine once I finish it because I have a very bad feeling about Kiri's coming political atmosphere. I refuse to trust Yagura further than I can throw him. The entire coronation was... suspicious. Yota is a bit eccentric, but the supplies he gave me saved my life many times. I know he could be trusted with this._

There was a bitter taste in my mouth when I read that. In fact, Yota couldn't be trusted with the scroll at all because he took it with him to be sold off to anyone who'd buy it. Granted, it was to save his country but it showed who he was really loyal to.

 _I'm a bit of a historian, so I'll do my best to tell our clan's story. Recently though, I've seen a 'jutsu first, story later' approach becoming popular, and that's just too bad for you, because you can't get the next one until you've finished this one you impatient little…_

 _Regardless, this scroll has some history in it. The Umi no Dokuhebi's history to be exact. We go back all the way to before the founding of Kirigakure no Sato. Have fun poring over history for hours on end to get to the next scroll only to find more history._

 _Now you might be asking, 'what next scroll?' Well I'll tell you. Whatever you do, please don't get the inside of the container wet. If you look at it, you'll see many tiny, tiny seals painted onto the metal. These are all storage seals for the many scrolls I have painstakingly written for you and the Umi no Dokuhebi. To change scrolls, put this one back and twist it clockwise all the way around until there's a poof of smoke. That means a new scroll has switched with the old one. To go back, turn it counter-clockwise._

 _Gah, I sound like my father. Whatever._

 _This, my relative, is only the introduction scroll. Put it back and twist to start your history lesson._

 _Humor aside, I want you to take this seriously. You could very well be that last of us for all I know, and knowing where you came from is an important thing. I don't want some young foolhardy kid abusing what's contained here, so you learn your history first and be responsible for your actions._

Here the scroll ended and I stood there, numb. Who would have thought this would be so important? With shaking hands, I put the scroll back into the container and put its cap back on.

This is definitely going to have to wait until we're back at Konoha. I can't risk this getting exposed to the weather. It's like the Holy Grail of the Umi no Dokuhebi. What I held in my hand was a portable Umi no Dokuhebi's equivalent of the Uchiha tablet.

My hands shook.

Whoever wrote this was right. I have to be responsible for this. I may just have to be forced to kill anyone who tries to take it from me or Kaa-chan. Nobody can know about this unless they're Umi no Dokuhebi.

Nobody.

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: I admit, what I did with whole 'scroll' idea was a big risk on my part. I had originally designed for the scroll to be nothing but overpowered jutsu and give Hariken an unbelievable advantage over all his enemies, but that wouldn't work. Sure, it'll have some jutsu but that's not going to come into play until later. There's a kind of progression and growth thing for every story.**

 **Yes, there'll be taijutsu scrolls _conveniently_ in there as well. And let's not forget that we have a living Umi no Dokuhebi with the knowledge of their taijutsu style and some of their jutsu. So this scroll won't be something that magically makes Hariken suddenly amazing with hand to hand combat.**

 **What I write, I try to have as much of it be original as possible. When I'm writing a chapter, I refuse to read other Naruto fics for fear that I steal something from other authors. I understand that that's highly frowned upon. If I inadvertently steal or think of the same ideas another author has used please let me know.**

 **If you want, toss a review out there. I don't mind people poking holes in my logic and story writing, because that means I can go and fix it. I'd prefer not to have people angry at what I do review saying 'You suck, stop writing and kill yourself.' Because that kind of response gets nobody anywhere.**

 **There's toxic people in every community, and the best we can do is protect each other by not letting them get to us.**

 **That's all.**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**


	12. Chapter 12: Earth

**Chapter 12: ...Earth**

 **AN: I'm back! Before people start complaining, I actually do have a plan of where to go plotwise once this whole mission is over with. It may not seem like it, but I have notes written dutifully on a notebook of how this story will be going. A chapter-by-chapter summary and about a page and a half of nothing but plot on a timeline as well as four empty pages that will be filled with side details. I've got this. I also bounce ideas off of people in real life and have discussions of what could happen if one thing or the other happens.**

 **NOT ABANDONING THIS FIC NO MATTER HOW INFREQUENT THE UPDATES ARE! There's no way I'm tossing an original idea (from my standpoint at least) to the wayside for someone else to write and inevitably steer it in the wrong direction. As I've said, the pages on pages of plot and thought went into this. Throwing aside over a two-year project is just stupid at this point.**

 **That feeling when you have everything up to Shippuden planned but can't even think of what to do with a single chapter. GAAAH! IT'S AGONIZING!**

 **Now that that's cleared up, constructive criticism and reviews of support are fully welcome! Thanks!**

 **Note: There's going to be more line breaks in the beginning of this chapter because not much of anything is happening and there's a lot of sitting around and waiting. I tried to focus on the relevant information and cut out the traveling (at least six hours of it) and waiting (quite a bit of absolutely nothing).**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

" **Attacks! (Translations!)"**

 **\/**

* * *

Maeda Reizo looked over his shoulder for the third time in the past hour. It wouldn't be an issue if he was just nervous, because he should be. He's just nervous for the wrong reason. He was going to die soon after all. The issue was the fact that he was nervous in and of itself. He should be blissfully unaware of his impending demise.

Anko and I discussed it as quietly as we could in the sleepy silence of morning before Reizo woke up and we think there's something going on. Our 'client' has no actual reason to be nervous: He's protected by who the Hokage appointed as the 'best shinobi in the village,' the escort is to a largely unknown civilian town in the middle of nowhere, the Elemental Nations are at a tentative peace after the conclusion of the Second Shinobi World War, and to top it off the escort isn't even a serious mission or going into hostile territory. To be as on edge as Reizo is right now makes no sense. Taking into consideration that correspondence with the western Hidden Villages Satoshi told us about, Anko and I couldn't help but think something's amiss. Exactly what was wrong, however, was that certain something we were missing.

Reizo fidgeted with the strap of his travel pack, his fingers darting to tighten it in quick motions. For a sadistic moment of humor's sake I kinda wanted to mess with him. A wistful smile stretched across my face at the thought. What would I do, though? I was behind the man with Anko to my right, and I know she'd be totally on board with the way he's been grinding her gears all this time. I'm not so good at using genjutsu, but Reizo was just a civilian so he'd probably not notice at all if it looked like there were shapes in the trees or that the whispering of the leaves became more malevolent. I felt something prickling the back of my neck and I looked up to where the feeling was guiding me. The look Orochimaru-sensei was sending my direction quelled the mischievous urge I had. He was staring right back at me with narrowed eyes, daring me to make a move.

I pushed my hands into my pockets and kicked a loose pebble with my next footfall, properly chastised.

We all walked in silence for a while, and it was just like the irritable client wished his mission to go. Nothing but the sound of pattering footsteps as we marched along to our destination. If this is the thing that 'normal' escort missions consist of then I'd honestly rather be doing anything else, like watching paint dry or grass grow.

The walking is a blessing of sorts because of the company and the fact that it's been a vacation from training under Orochimaru-sensei. His complete and utter lack of morals makes him a brutal and effective person to be trained by. He knows the our limits and does everything he can to push them up past what a normal person can withstand. I've been strained so hard I can't even remember the last time I've had to do the nightly chakra expulsion exercise when we were still in the village.

The downside to not getting wrecked by Orochimaru every single day lies in the fact that I have to, in fact, expel my chakra once more. The drain of chakra from my coils feels like air being leaked from a balloon, and like a balloon I feel limp and empty afterward. I'm pretty sure Kakashi has purposely stayed up when I'm on guard duty so he could time how long I could hold the shield for. I feel cheated by this but then I remember that I've got the future events of this entire world in my head. My memory is not as sharp as I'd like it to be, but I still have a tremendous advantage in knowing how Kakashi's thinking has changed in the past two years when we were separate.

Thinking of sparring only serves to make me filled with twitchiness from doing nothing but walking. There's an excess of energy packed into my coils, and it tends to make me a little… aggressive and eager for action. I usually just take a rock or something and stick it to me with chakra, just to take the edge off. That would earn Reizo's ire. I couldn't talk to anyone either because of the touchy businessman glaring at the slightest whisper. Therefore, I'm left with making quantum leaps in thought to different topics just to keep myself from going freaking _insane_!

' _Stupid, stupid!'_ I thought, making careful not to verbalize my musings. _'Why couldn't you think of something else? You know sparring gets your adrenaline going! How about music? You love listening to music! It calms you down.'_

That little contrary voice in my head decided to pipe up. _'Yeah, but there's no music like how it was before. No classical symphonies or metal guitar solos. Not even those corny songs you listen to with your friends were spared.'_

I smiled stupidly at that thought. It would be funny to hear that old disco music or ridiculous pop love ballads being played in the middle of Konoha. It would be weird though because even though there's radios, there's really not music being played on them.

That's where the strange mashup of technology Kishimoto dreamed up comes into play. In some instances the tech is quite advanced, such as having computers and those cameras that print the photos right after the button is pushed. ' _What were those called? Polarhemerrhoids? Ah, can't remember.'_ Other tech seems like it's straight out of the Tokugawa shogunate though. It made for an interesting if sometimes frustrating time.

The two jounin suddenly stopped walking and I realized how much time had passed. There was only faint light around us and I peered through the trees to find that the sun had set. The twilight's gloom illuminated everything very dimly. Time really slipped away when you're trekking across Hi no Kuni lost in your thoughts. Minato turned to face the group with a smile, "We're about six hours away from our destination. We're setting up camp here and moving out at first light. Mujun town is small, so once Reizo settles himself at the inn we'll make our way back to Konoha at shinobi speed."

A thrill of nervousness shot through my belly. If we leave then how can we kill Reizo with nobody noticing? I glanced in Orochimaru-sensei's direction, and he raised an eyebrow at me as if he were questioning my intelligence. That means he wants me to think it out which is really frustrating because that means he already figured out the solution. Whenever this happens I always end up feeling stupid.

Reizo had already taken out his tent from his backpack and was setting it up with low grumbling. I spotted Minato securing a perimeter and he flashed a wide grin. All around me the mission group was setting up camp and I was standing around trying to think of what Orochimaru had figured out that I didn't. I cursed in my head and started unpacking as well.

I had all of my guard shift to think it over so there's no point in agonizing over it right now. I had fourth watch tonight, which sucked because I really felt like waking up with everyone else. It didn't matter though because all the shinobi got the same amount of sleep except for one each night. As there was a fifth shinobi on duty but only four shifts, one person got to sleep a full seven hours. That was Kakashi tonight. Anko had first, Minato had second, Orochimaru-sensei had third, and I had fourth.

I sighed and watched Kakashi go into my tent while I put my hands in the slug handsign to expel my chakra. The soft blue glow of my chakra barrier eventually became the only light in the forest.

 **\/**

* * *

Minato peered into the night, reveling in the peace and chilly dampness. Only, the peace was false. Maeda Reizo had made his move to escape from his own escort detail.

While it had puzzled the Yellow Flash, Reizo trying to leave made sense. Minato was no fool to the events happening around him. The man was twitchy, uncomfortable even, and to Minato's trained mind it was as if he were waving a big red flag at them. What the blond didn't know was why, unknowingly echoing Orochimaru's apprentices thoughts.

He had to commend the businessman for his escape. Reizo's tent was in the darkest section of the camp and on the outskirts. He was crafty in waiting for the middle of Minato's shift when most shinobi were least alert in order to slip out the back of his tent directly into the woods. However, his escape was far from unnoticed.

"So he left."

Minato didn't need to look to where the voice came from. "About an hour ago. He actually did quite well. A genin team wouldn't have been able to notice him slip away."

Orochimaru gave one of his dry chuckles, "I hardly think either of us would be considered genin. You do have him being followed, don't you?"

With a nod Minato said, "Kage Bunshin with one of my hiraishin kunai. It's making a trail for us to follow in case Reizo's tracks get erased. If something comes up it will throw the kunai and dispel. It's information feedback will let me know everything I need to take action." His lips pursed. "There's something going on here. Reizo fled to the northwest. Nothing is in that direction but Kusa, Taki and beyond that, Iwa. We know he has a connection with Taki, being from there but we also know he left Taki behind to suffer in order to profit from Konoha's weapons shortage."

"Taki has nothing to offer him." Orochimaru pointed out with a hand on his chin. "He left for money and because he saw an opportunity to get ingrained into one of the five major hidden villages. And now that there's no war going on there's less money to be gained. I don't think we should be looking at Kusa either because it's dependent mostly on other nations for survival. Kusa won't have what he wants."

"That leaves Iwa, but there's no reason for Reizo to have any contact with them. They're facing the same problems Konoha is with the international post-war recession." Minato pointed out.

Orochimaru shifted his gaze to the ground, seemingly deep in thought, "I went to the messenger hawk station before we left to see if any non-shinobi messages were sent out and they confirmed several were sent to the west by our client."

Minato crossed his arms, "Whatever is going on, we need to know. This sounds suspiciously like he's trying to defect. Reizo is a major player in the economic side of Hi no Kuni and knows sensitive information. If that gets into the hands of someone else," He said, looking into the woods, "Konoha's economy would be compromised. Whoever he's trying to go to would know exactly where we're weak and unstable."

Orochimaru was about to speak again when Minato's bearing changed slightly, like he was listening to something. "Kage Bunshin?" The snake summoner asked.

The Yellow Flash looked to the forest, rising to his feet. "I'll grab my hiraishin tag on the way back to Konoha. Reizo's coming back and I've got some bad news."

 **\/**

* * *

 **Earlier, with Reizo**

The uncomfortably large Iwa jounin chewed on his toothpick while watching the incredibly nervous man standing in front of him. A thick, powerful hand came up to rest in the jounin's fuzzy brown hair. "Relax Maeda-san." He said soothingly, sounding like he's going to yawn at any moment. "There isn't much two Konoha jounin can do against a squad of twenty-four Iwa shinobi. Most of us here have served in the war. You're perfectly safe here with us."

The man wrung his hands and glanced at the formidable man, "You don't understand. I'm taking a huge risk just by coming here tonight. All of our carefully laid plans could be destroyed if they suspect anything." Reizo didn't spend all that time stealing from Konoha just to have all of his plots be ruined.

An Iwa kunoichi stepped forward from the shadows with an unimpressed look on what you could see of her face, "If you were so worried about being found out then why did you come here?" She said harshly from behind the purple scarf on her face.

The big one waved in her general direction, "Hey, hey, knock it off Li. Those Konoha were probably fouling the air with their stench so he had to do _something_ to get away. I don't blame him." He said.

He shifted on the rock he was lounging on and supported his head with a hand, all the while stroking his hair with the other and chewing his toothpick. "Li does have a point, if I'm forcedto give her some credit. You were told to meet with us only if it was an emergency." He looked Reizo up and down, "From what it looks like, you are neither dead nor dying, so what exactly are you doing here risking your cover? We didn't shadow your little powwow so you could blow it on a little peace of mind."

The silver-haired merchant shot the kunoichi a glare and pointed at his own chest with a thumb. " _I'm_ here to make sure everything is prepared. _I_ didn't spend all that time in Konoha just to come back to discover there'd been no results! _I_ am a businessman and if no progress has been made then all _my_ work will have been for nothing!"

The large man snorted, " _You're_ a bottom feeder and a leech who ran to the Tsuchikage the moment _you_ were done sucking the life out of Taki. The only reason Konoha discovered _you_ existed was because we made _your_ name known." He mocked.

Reizo humphed, not denying what the man said. "You didn't answer my question. Is my bridge finished?"

An eyeroll of magnificent proportions was the large man's response. "Yes, Maeda Reizo. Your bridge is finished. Kusa was not happy about us walking around their precious river in that godforsaken place, but thanks to you Iwa now has a shiny new supply line." He said. The man reached behind him and pulled out a large wineskin. "Li dear, can you get our friend a chair? I would do it myself but," He gestured to his position on the rock, "I'm just too comfortable."

The woman said some very nasty things to the man but did a few quick handsigns nonetheless. In a matter of seconds a simple pillar of stone rose from the ground for Reizo to sit on. The man smiled, "You're my favorite!" He called after her. She sent him a rude gesture before fading back into the shadows.

He chuckled, "Ah, she doesn't hate me. Living a life without listening to every little order her obviously superior senior jounin gives would fill Li with such emptiness." The man said with a small smile. He shook his head then offered the wineskin. "Thirsty?"

Reizo turned his nose up at the drink, "I would rather not. I took enough of a risk to be here away from my watchdogs as it is. I don't need my senses dulled or my inhibitions lowered." He said haughtily. "Not to mention traveling untold miles to Iwagakure with a hangover. No, thank you."

The man sighed, "You just don't get it, do you? This," He shook the alcohol-filled bag, "Is your cover story. You're the kind of guy who values his public image very much, and won't want to be seen drunk out of your mind by your hired help. Hey, I get it man, but I just don't care." The Iwa jounin threw the wineskin at Reizo, who struggled to not drop it. "The way I see it, it makes perfect sense for a guy like you to run away and get drunk in the woods just so he didn't have the people around him seeing and judging him. Drink a good amount, enjoy yourself, then stumble back and pass out in your tent. It's so simple I wish I had your job."

Reizo hesitantly uncapped the skin, then wrinkled his nose at the smell, "Dear Kami, you don't expect me to drink this, do you?"

"It's this or risk your cover, buddy."

The businessman sighed, "Sometimes I can't stand dealing with shinobi." He muttered just loud enough for the man to hear. Then louder, "Are you and your men ready to make your move when we get there? I would hate to lose my escort to Iwagakure."

"Of course." The man affirmed gruffly, losing the drowsy tone. "If we fail to ambush these Konoha punks, even if they're 'the best Konoha has to offer,' the least of your worries are getting to Iwa. Don't worry about anyone in Mujun town finding you out, Li and Shinji are going to be there to keep everyone quiet. They should be more than enough to get you hidden safely. They've worked together a lot in the past."

"In fact, we won't even be going after the Konoha rats until you're safe and sound holed up in that little inn. Now get going, the sooner you get boozed up, the better."

"Fine." The silver-haired man said tersely before he drank from the skin. "Ugh, this is revolting, where did you find it, a sewer?"

The lazy Iwa jounin leaned back. "An old family recipe, actually. I'm glad you're enjoying it so much."

 **\/**

* * *

I grumbled when I was woken up from my replenishing and much needed rest, only to be jolted into life when a hand closed firmly around my mouth. A kunai was immediately in my hand and thrust up at the person over me, but was batted away like it was nothing.

"Shut up and listen." Came the hissing voice of my sensei from above me. "There's been a new development in the mission. Reizo has been in contact with Iwa for an extended period of time while in Konoha, and he plans to defect after we leave to return home. Anko, Kakashi, you listen too. Minato is out covering for me until Hariken gets out for his shift and already knows about this."

Kakashi sat up in his sleeping bag, no longer feigning sleep while Anko just drowsily turned on her side. "The main Iwa force is staging an ambush after we leave Mujun Town. The three of you will stay behind to make sure he doesn't escape. There's going to be hidden Iwa shinobi among the people of Mujun Town. There's at least two, so you're going to be fighting." He shot a glance at Anko, knowing how she feels about being protected. "Hariken, you're staying with Reizo while Anko and Kakashi stay hidden." He ordered.

"If he tries to escape, bite him. We can't risk such a large breach in our security to go out from under our watch. Once he's dead get out there. We need all of the manpower we can get."

Ah, I see now. That's what he must have meant earlier when he was giving me that 'are you stupid' look. Poison was the answer. Even if it wasn't delivered by my fangs, Orochimaru could still make it so that Reizo drops long after the guard detail was gone.

That obviously isn't going to be happening now. Now all I have to do is make sure his guard is down and bite the man when everyone leaves the room. Simple. How perfectly coincidental that this series of events just so happened to play out this way. Without taking Murphy's Law into account, this sounds like a piece of cake.

"Anko, Kakashi, try to go back to sleep. You're going to need as much energy as possible for tomorrow. Hariken, You still have your shift. Minato and I will be awake as well inside our tents watching for enemy shinobi to make sure the Iwa shinobi aren't bluffing and decide to attack in the night." He sent me a serious stare that made me wither back into my sleeping bag a little, even in the darkness. "This does not mean you can slack off and read that curious scroll the Kiri merchant gave you." I think it was the minute feeling of impending death that made me think he was letting a just a little bit of his killing intent out. Message received.

Laying off the pressure, Orochimaru sent us a sly smile in the darkness, "Oh, and do remember to keep quiet tomorrow. Reizo will be suffering from a tragic hangover. It would be a shame if someone distracted him from his memories of his trip to visit the Iwa shinobi."

With a dark grin, I watched my sensei leave the tent.

Looking back at my friends I said, "Thanks for waking up to defend me when I could've been killed." There, that's a nice dollop of sass for them to chew on while I was busy arming myself to stand watch.

"Anytime." Anko mumbled, her face mashed into her pillow as she rolled onto her stomach.

I grinned at the equal serving of sarcasm she dished out and slunk out of the tent half occupied with strapping my kunai holster on. After making sure my tanto was securely in its sheath under my left sleeve, I walked into the center of the camp and closed my eyes.

It was dark, and the cover of the trees over me made sure no light shone, so infrared vision would be the name of the game tonight. I huddled in for what would be a long guard shift. There's no way I could read the scroll tonight. The mission shifted from being a vacation to being very dangerous. It's all too easy to imagine Orochimaru hiding in his tent, salivating and sharpening pointy sticks.

Okay, maybe he isn't doing that but the point is that I should be on my guard.

A soft breeze rustled through the camp, jolting me into the present. My tongue darted out, tasting the air to find nothing amiss. The night was chilly and humid, making me feel like my clothes were damp. Crickets chirped and a few squirrels chattered in the night. It was tranquil, a kind of peace that can be imagined to have soft music playing in the background.

I sighed. The best way to pass the time would be to find a nice cozy tree to keep watch from. A tactical advantage generally comes from having the higher ground as well, and the last place people are expected to look is upward. Say we actually were attacked, then I could get a surprise counterattack on at least one before they caught on.

A sturdy-looking maple tree was all but calling my name and I scampered up into its branches for a long few hours. _'This is the life.'_ I snarked to myself, nerves making my hands jitter in the semi-silence.

 **\/**

* * *

"So Kakashi, d'you know a place that sells chakra-conductive weapons?" I asked from the back of the escort, projecting my voice so that my silver-haired friend could hear me clearly from his position on point. "I've never actually been out to get my own equipment in Konoha."

There was a low groan of pain from the businessman between the two of us. He looked rather ridiculous with the large sunglasses on his face and the hand massaging his temples.

"Really?" He asked, the raised eyebrow of disbelief evident in his voice. "You've got such a personalized style and look. I would have never thought you didn't get it yourself."

I looked down at the very white coat I wore with its long, flowing sleeves and the black shinobi pants I had on. "Personalized style? I look like a blue Hyuuga trying to wear his older brother's clothes. If by that you mean I don't wear a standard issue black Konoha bodysuit then sure, I'm 'personalized.'"

Anko snickered, "I feel like we're going to have to name a complex after Hariken. He has this compulsion to stand out from everyone else."

I shot her a flat look from where I stood next to her. "I stick out like a sore thumb regardless of where I go. I might as well be worth looking at if people are going to stare."

"So you decided to go for the stuck-up, er… the _noble_ look? No offense Blue but couldn't you have chosen something more respectable?"

"Ah, yes. The Stranger in the Night is a much better look, Anko. If you were a _man_ and about two and a half feet taller you'd have the Uchiha Police arresting you for indecent exposure whenever you went outdoors." I replied. "Compared to that I'd much rather look… well…" I gestured to the hungover man in front of us making a noise that let everyone in the group know who I was referring to. "Stuck-up."

After a short pause in which the three of us collectively waited for Reizo to respond I continued, deciding we needed to keep talking to get his mind off of Iwa. "Besides, these clothes are the last ones like this I'm ever going to own until I get good enough to wear whatever I want. After I grow out of this it'll be jumpsuits and vests, just like any other shinobi. Just look at Orochimaru-sensei's old team if you need an example of what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure Jiraiya-san can walk into a mission briefing in his pajamas and nobody would bat an eye."

In a rare show of humor, Orochimaru-sensei snorted derisively, on the Orochimaru scale it was almost a chuckle! "Nobody would ever bat an eye at that fool regardless."

This was some of the best fun I've had in a while. There hasn't been a chance like this for Anko and I to kick back in a long time. It's even better due to the fact that Kakashi is here too. From his recent history with what happened to his father, I was afraid he would be an antisocial machine capable of only doing mission after mission uncaring of human contact, emotions, or anything that isn't by 'The Rules' as he called them.

Wait.

Actually, he should be like that. No exceptions. For all reasons, Hatake Kakashi should be an emotionless force of duty and service. Nothing could or should possibly come in between him and his mission at this point in time. Not even the lives of his teammates.

What happened? Why is Kakashi acting like a friend instead of a shinobi when there's no reason in this world for him to be like this. Something is wrong. Is it that accursed butterfly effect?

I will punch something if I seriously messed with the life of one of the most memorable and dynamic influences of the main character's life. If Kakashi cares about something other than 'the mission' this early on then the entirety of my future knowledge is rendered completely useless! Obito and Kakashi would have no (or less) conflict between each other which would result in better teamwork in the Kannabi Bridge mission that set so many future events in motion. Madara would never save Obito and the story of Naruto as I knew it would be utterly erased.

My heart started pounding and a cold sweat cropped up on my brow. It wasn't until a hand waved in front of my face that I realized I'd stopped in the middle of the road.

"Hellooo… Anko to Hariken, dooo you copy?" My fellow apprentice said very slowly and deliberately.

My eyes refocused and I noticed that everyone was looking at me. Reizo was holding his head like it was about to explode. "Wh-what? What's going on?" I asked.

Anko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Jeez, Blue. You spaced out again. Didn't we tell you to stop thinking so hard after what happened when I broke my leg? I'm fine now and I'm sure whatever you're overthinking is gonna be fine too."

"We are in the middle of a mission, Hariken." Orochimaru interjected coolly. "This is not the first time this has happened, even on this mission. We will resolve this problem you have when we return to Konoha. Getting so lost in your thoughts that you shut down is unacceptable."

My jaw tightened and my anger flared. He is going to train it out of me. I don't know how he's going to do it, but I'm not going to be able to zone out ever again once he gets his hooks into me.

I wasn't mad at Orochimaru. I was mad at myself. In the long run he's only going to improve what I do and how I do it, but all the anxiety and going neurotic about the future was all me. It made me furious. Through my entire time in this world the focus has been on trying to stay low and keeping my knowledge of events not yet happening a secret. Now I feel like everything I do only raises more suspicion. I felt like pulling my hair out.

I nod my head jerkily, "Hai, Orochimaru-sensei. It won't happen again!"

He narrowed his yellow eyes at my tone. "Good. We're nearly to Mujun Town. Let's move."

The rest of the trip was made in silence, which made Reizo inordinately pleased.

 **\/**

* * *

Reizo watched as the two dead men and their stupidly annoying kids jumped into the tree line. He closed his eyes, listening to the sweet sound of silence. His head hurt, his heart hurt and every vein in his body felt like it was on fire. He'd woken up this morning like that, and no matter how much water he drank the feeling just wouldn't go away. Hangovers were so debilitating in part because of how alcohol doesn't provide any hydration and makes you constantly need to piss. Drinking water was supposed to alleviate some symptoms. _Supposed to_.

To add to his list of problems, Reizo had no idea what happened last night, but the taste in his mouth was just _wrong._ Violating, even.

That silence felt like someone draped a nice cool blanket over his brain. The lack of brats squawking in his ears was so nice he didn't even care about the smell coming from the boots he'd removed once he stepped onto the small inn's patio.

The Konoha shinobi had walked him right into the building and did a once-over of the room he'd booked. They'd made him stand outside but that was a sacrifice Reizo was fully willing to take if it just got those kids away from him. After they cleared the room all five of them walked off, but not without the blond one asking if he needed anything before he left. Reizo dismissed him and thanked him for being the most quiet during the long trip.

Now they were gone. There were truly no words to express how happy he was to see them gone. Reizo had gotten away without any suspicion whatsoever! The Tsuchikage would write him a nice fat check and he'd be able to spend the rest of his days wrinkling in the hot springs of Yugakure. No more of this shinobi crap. He would go to bed with a woman warming it, and nobody would ever be able to say the words 'Konoha' or 'shinobi' in his presence without being verbally castrated. Maeda Reizo was officially done dealing with shinobi politics. He was more than ready to relax.

And right now, there was nothing more that he wanted than to go to bed. His head hurt.

"Ah, h-hello sir. Your room is ready." Said a shy, most definitely female voice. Reizo turned around to thank her when his eyes registered what he was seeing.

A svelte woman with hair brown as chocolate and eyes like emeralds stood in front of him, pushing her fingers together nervously and looking down at her shoes. She was wearing a maid uniform, so it was painfully obvious what she did here.

On second thought, Reizo didn't feel so tired after all. Poor thing, she must have grown up isolated for all her life in this little town and not had anyone to talk to. He could fix that.

Reizo gave a warm smile, "Why thank you, young lady. If you'd do the dubious pleasure of leading me to my room, that would be most welcome."

She blushed cutely and turned to leave, if only to hide her face from him. "F-follow me, sir. Y-your room is this way."

Reizo's smile turned a bit more inwardly reflective as his eyes roved over the maid's lithe form. Their footsteps were swift as they both made their way to Reizo's room. She certainly seemed interested in the merchant, and even if things didn't go his way right off the bat Reizo was certain some liquid courage could help.

His head pounded when she swung open his door and all thoughts of liquor vanished from his mind. Perhaps later, they would have a drink or two. He wasn't sure he could handle it at the moment.

"I'm s-sorry sir, I seem to have left some supplies here and forgot to grab them. I-I'll be right out of your w-way." She stuttered nervously.

Reizo went to the nightstand to pour himself a glass of water using his waterskin and one of the complimentary glasses. When he turned back he almost spat the water out. The maid was bent over at the waist, picking up a bucket of rags and cleaners. He laughed good-naturedly, hiding his shock behind his natural charisma in a way only a professional could. "Nothing to worry about, my dear. You're just doing your job." He surreptitiously glanced at his watch.

"Th-thank you sir!"

"You know what? You look awful tired, Miss…"

The girl looked shocked that anyone would care enough to know her name. "H-Hana, sir."

"You look awful tired Hana, why don't you go for your lunch break? It's nearly noon, so we can both eat here. I'm told that I'm an excellent conversationalist."

The girl nodded profusely and thanked Reizo before exiting the room with her bucket. Once she left the man pushed up his glasses and rubbed his temples with a chuckle. "Even with this awful headache… heh, I've still got it."

While she was away Reizo was most certainly not idle. He tilted back the glass in his hand to drain the rest of his water and refilled it. Then the silver-haired man went to the ensuite and washed his face clean of the grime built up over the journey across Hi no Kuni. Feeling much more refreshed, he returned to the room and took out the solution that he used to clean his glasses. He needed all the advantages he could get. A clean face and bright eyes were only a few of the things he could do to turn things in his favor. He knew his eyes were described as strong, and people tended to flock to ones exhibiting strength.

If anything Reizo knew how to influence and charm people. It's how he worked. Getting an attractive naïve young woman from the middle of nowhere would be too easy. He would have company tonight, of that he was certain.

There was the pitter-patter sound of the girl's shoes on the hardwood and Reizo made sure to have his back to the door. When she came in he would turn around an–

"Hrk!"

White hot pain screamed into his back and a foot was planted into his knee to drive Maeda Reizo to the floor.

"Kami, you're the lowest piece of pompous dandy trash I've ever seen! I based that henge's personality on a twelve-year-old girl!" A familiar voice hissed.

"Y-you! But how?" Reizo managed.

The voice continued undeterred, "I'd rather spend the week around Jiraiya instead of a worthless lech like you! At least he'd teach me something."

 **\/**

* * *

In a dumpy apartment in the village of Konoha, a white-haired man stiffened, then relaxed as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I feel like a grave wrong committed against me has been reversed!" He said joyously.

 **\/**

* * *

The blinding pain in Reizo's back suddenly lanced forward and he looked down to see a slim metal point protruding from the right side of his abdomen. "That," said the blue-skinned brat, rudely ignoring Reizo's gasped question. "Is a blade through your liver. It's to keep you still so I can do this."

The boy wrenched Reizo's head to the side and covered the merchant's mouth. "This is going to hurt and I will not regret it." He growled as he plunged long fangs into Reizo's artery. Reizo tried to scream and thrash about but was muffled by Hariken's hand. The blue shinobi apprentice held the merchant there until he stopped squirming and howling.

With his job finished, Hariken viciously tore his tanto out of the dead man and shoved him to the floor.

"Disgusting!" Hariken said with a grimace. He took the glass from the side table and rinsed his mouth out. With derision, he spat the blood, spit, and water to the side. "His blood tastes like dirt. Sorry for that henge future Hinata, I'll get you something to make up for it. I feel like I need to take a shower."

Hariken glanced at the downed form one last time before flicking the lights off and leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him.

 **\/**

* * *

Something was off the moment I stepped outside the inn. The sheer tension in the atmosphere threw me off. I knew fully well that Anko, Kakashi and I were going to be fighting for our lives. It felt like the very air was holding its breath in anticipation. I wasn't afraid for my friends lives at the moment because I knew they were well hidden, disguised under henge as the two old ladies nattering back and forth on the side of the road.

The inn was close to the center of the small town, so worst case scenario we had to fight our way out. I took a few steps out of the building and let loose a massive yawn. Stretching my arms, I gave the 'target eliminated' signal for this mission. The moment I scratched the side of my neck one of the ladies laughed shrilly. Message received. I was going to walk calmly to the road when I noticed the other crone's wide eyes.

"Six!" was yelled by the 'old lady.' I reflexively jumped forward, just in time to barely dodge a diagonal slash of a katana. As it was, I felt a sharp tug on my lovely coat and heard the sound of cloth tearing. Once I rolled back to my feet, I found out that I now had a brand new snuggie. I groaned in frustration. _'That was my last good coat! I don't want to join the black jumpsuit masses!'_

The woman with the deadly weapon scowled and lunged at me again.

Huh, it was the receptionist to that inn, that's why she seemed so familiar. A shame, she seemed like such a nice lady.

Dodging to the side, I couldn't help but feel like a dark souls player. What made me different from them is that I refuse to _roll_ around to take a shot at her. Instead I whipped the ruined clothing off and threw it in her face. Now most people would charge forward like some kind of hero to engage the evil foe, but I was not most people. I was alone, facing a most likely superior opponent who had a weapon with a longer reach. I'm not stupid. There's strength in numbers, and even though there's only around two of them, three still stands a better chance than one.

In a feat of agility and strength that would have my past self be in a state of awe, I did a backflip off the inn's porch and across the street. My two teammates had already dropped the old lady henge and were ready to fight. We grouped into a triangle to cover all around us. "Anko, water!" No thanks to that jerk with the katana my canteen of water was back on the porch. Along with cutting my coat open, the slice also severed the shoulder strap on my water.

I glanced at my arm and saw my tanto was exposed now that I had no shirt. I had wanted to have it be the ace up my sleeve, but I suppose I should count my blessings. That razor-sharp weapon could have sliced through my scales like paper with the force she was swinging it at.

My female friend tossed her canteen to me. I looped the long strap twice around my waist securely before tearing my tanto from its sheath. "That was too close." She scolded.

Now that I had a source of water other than my body itself, I could safely use one or two jutsu before risking dehydration. Oh boy, did Orochimaru-sensei tear into me for using that mizurappa against the bandits without a nearby water source. A mistake I'm not going to make again. Luckily, he refrained from using more physical reminders because of the mission. I had no doubt I was in for a rough time when we got back to Konoha.

"I know." Was the grim response.

I was the only one in the formation facing the woman who tried to cut my back open. With that, I was the only one to get a good look at her. I would have paid more attention to the receptionist earlier, but I was more focused on getting into position to kill Reizo. She looked completely nondescript except for the strange tan line on the bottom of her face. Like a grownup maskless Kakashi woman in a dress with a sword.

There was definitely something strange to be said about fighting someone who was wearing an apron and a bonnet. One thing was for certain though, she wasn't happy.

"Konoha should not have known anything!" She seethed, sheathing her sword and bending her knees.

My eyebrows jerked upward. _'I recognize that stance!'_

I wasn't able to warn my teammates in time because the woman simply disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the three of us with her sword already swinging. With all the speed I could muster up, I jabbed my tanto at her midsection forcing her to flip out from between us.

"She's using an Ikken Hissatsu sword style! Split up!" I shouted. I heard affirmations from the others and we jumped apart as if a grenade had been dropped at our feet. Staying together only invited her to hit all three of us at once, so we couldn't clump up or we'd risk losing our heads in the most literal way possible.

I landed on top of that stupid inn where she'd first tried to bisect me and watched the disguised shinobi intently. She had her sword sheathed once more and was pointing a smirk in my direction. That was the only warning I had before I was forced to do another jaw-dropping feat of agility and bend nearly backwards to avoid the bite of the Iwa kunoichi's katana. A few strands of dark blue, almost black, hair drifted down to the wood-tiled rooftop as a testament to how close she was to hitting me.

The woman stopped her dash at the opposite side of the roof. How she managed to traverse a space of open air to an elevated surface across the street I have no idea. "You're fast." Apron-Lady growled. "I think I'll deal with you personally for killing our client. Tenshi-san tried to prevent any kind of poisoning with his ancestral antidote but you had to stab him didn't you?"

There was a low grinding sound, like the very earth had started to split. "Ah, I see Shinji is dealing with your little friends even now."

"Reizo was a traitor and a predator of little girl-based henges! His death was justified." I said to her previous comment, preparing myself for her next attack. With her this close and on level ground, though that didn't stop her last time, it was going to be a close one.

Apron-Lady scoffed and charged.

I was wrong. It wasn't a close one at all. She was so unbelievably _fast_. A foot impacted my chest and sent me flying well above the treetops of Hi no Kuni's vaunted forests. I could only flail and watch, horrified, as she did a few handsigns. **"Doton: Hashira Hikōyoku! (Doton: Pillar Flight Blade!)"**

And suddenly I understood how she was able to get to the roof with such a tough angle to work with. A perfectly circular column of earth rose beneath her with a thundering crack of stone. It jutted out so violently I was surprised her legs didn't break. In return, Apron-Lady was sent careening at me with a frightening velocity.

With nothing close enough to do a hasty kawarimi with I did the next best thing and made one. I could only watch, safely falling off to the side twenty feet over, as my mizu bunshin literally exploded under the force of her katana's swing.

I gulped as time seemed to resume and gravity took its natural course.

How could I win against an enemy with an affinity advantage, and who was stronger and faster than me?

 **\/**

* * *

The first thing Kakashi noticed when he landed after splitting up with Anko and Hariken was that the ground had turned into a slick, unstable slush. This was not good considering the distinct lack of rain from the past week or so. The second thing he noticed was that while splitting up may have been the best idea against a person with a sword, it separated the three of them into individuals. Thirdly, he and Anko weren't fighting the swordswoman any longer.

The mud began cloying at Kakashi's feet, and he was forced to either take to the rooftops or sink into the earth. From his new vantage point he could see Hariken barely duck under a charging swing from the woman, but anything after that had to be ignored because he had a more pressing matter to attend to. Namely, the fact that the house Kakashi was standing upon was sinking into the ground quite rapidly.

He jumped off of it and onto another roof to find a man crouching in front of his current building. He was a thin man in an Iwa flak jacket with his hands buried wrist-deep into the mud. When the last Hatake spotted him, he sighed and rose to his feet, idly brushing his hands off on his pants. "So that hothead left me with the purple and silver brats? Typical. Li just can't do it right, can she? At least she'll make it quick for him. That is her style after all." He said in a sly manner.

A patter of sandals next to Kakashi signified Anko's arrival on the wood-tiled rooftop. "She uses a fast style, huh? Well that means we just have to deal with you faster so we can help our teammate."

"Anko, don't taunt an enemy you don't know the capabilities of." Kakashi warned.

The Iwa man flipped his black jaw-length hair casually, "Hah, I like your spunk Purple. I'll kill you last." With that, he pressed his hands together in the snake handsign. The Iwa shinobi didn't say a single word and the mud below him sprung to life, forming tendrils of earth that groped at the empty air.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at his opponent. He'd never seen anyone with such control over the earth before. He knew he had a raiton affinity to counter it, but he only had so much chakra before he'd have to stop using ninjutsu or risk chakra exhaustion.

Kakashi glanced at Anko, who was staring determinedly at the man. She seemed to have read his mind and asked, "Any plans Kakashi? This guy looks crazy."

He noticed that the man's feet were now buried in the mud, like his hands were when Kakashi first spotted him. Kakashi slipped a kunai out of his leg holster and held it in a reverse grip, "I have an idea, but we need to fight him a little bit to get a real plan going."

 **\/**

* * *

"Stop going for the head you crazy woman! You could hurt someone that way!" I shouted to her quickly departing back after diving off to the side to avoid a slash that would have left me all right, and all left as well.

"That's the point!" She roared.

I had to distract her somehow, or find some way to hide for a minute because this lady wasn't giving me even a second to think. I'm not sure if I could muster up enough water for another mizu bunshin and still have enough to use any other jutsu. I was already pretty dehydrated already and the first bunshin drained Anko's flask completely. Not that it would matter considering the affinity disadvantage I had.

The sharp sound of stone breaking was my only warning before I had to dodge another slash from the Iwa kunoichi. I watched as she once again flew through the air behind me, reorienting herself to land with all the grace of a feline. Despite all this she looked a little dazed. All that dashing around on the stone columns must have taken a toll on her equilibrium. I could see her reddened cheeks and the sneer on her face all the way back from where I had settled into a ready crouch. She was livid at my stubborn quality of not standing still to get cut down, and that was just fine with me.

Orochimaru had said not too long ago that an enraged enemy was both easier and more difficult to fight. Easier because they became reckless and made stupid mistakes. Difficult because it made them tend to hit harder, faster, and with far less mercy. I knew what he meant, having gotten my ribs bruised by whips of water, arm shattered by a lead pipe, and heart punctured by a chakra scalpel. Personally I wanted to end that little streak before the list of injuries got too long, but it seems that making people mad while fighting them was my schtick.

Maybe it's just my face.

I tilted my head slightly to avoid the single shuriken thrown at my face and did not look back at it. I already learned that particular lesson.

In response I dig into my equipment pouch for my own throwing object and feel my face fall at the rather empty pouch. I could have sworn I had at least _something_ in there, but no, only ninja wire! I didn't even like the stuff, why is it always in my equipment pouch when I least want it?

The woman laughed a cruel laugh as my mishap with my lack of tools provided her with an opportunity to regroup herself. "If all you can do is duck like a coward then I've got my work cut out for me." She taunted.

"If all you can do is launch yourself at me with a little pillar then maybe you should learn a new trick." I retorted.

Inwardly, I cursed. _'If she's got enough of her senses back to talk smack that means she's gained her focus. I could hardly keep up with her when she was angry, and she was almost beyond words when she first cut my coat off.'_

She started doing handsigns and in response I did my own. If it came to a head-on-head jutsu battle I knew I wasn't going to come out on top because of my affinity disadvantage. So I had to think of something fast.

I finished my handsigns first and whispered my jutsu, immediately feeling the water leave my body in a dizzying, and thankfully unseen wave. Ah, I was dry. No more suiton coming out of this here body any time soon.

Hers were next and she shouted her jutsu while stomping a foot. **"Doton: Batei Kabe! (Earth Release: Horseshoe Wall!)"**

As it's name suggests, a curved wall of stone rose around me, boxing me in with Apron-Lady on the other side. There was no escape except for upward. She started those now familiar handsigns. "It's time for you to die! **Doton: Hashira Hikōyoku!"**

My course of action was easy decision to make, really. When she first started using the jutsu, I was barely able to get out of the way. But after seeing her use it so many times (the quantity of pillars left extended out of the ground testified to that) I observed that once she was pointed in a direction, that's where she was going. Dodging became a lot easier after that.

The moment the ground beneath her cracked open I jumped, knowing she wouldn't be able to change the course of her movement. I saw the anger in her eyes because she knew I found out the weakness in her jutsu. I barely cleared the range of her katana at the crest of my jump. She savagely sliced the wall in half horizontally and the moment her blade left the earth it was racing upward to meet me in the air.

But I was actually never there in the first place. My handsigns were the same for the jutsu I'd used in the beginning of the fight. I'm surprised my trick worked twice to be honest.

The mizu bunshin I kawarimi'd with midair did three handsigns and used the third and hopefully final jutsu I was going to risk at the moment, fueling it with the very water that it was composed of. **"Suiton: Mizurappa! (Water Release: Violent Water Wave"**

I'm so proud of it. Your sacrifice will be remembered, Mizu Bunshin #137.

The force of the unexpected water stream being jetted out at the kunoichi sent her right to her knees, a very difficult position to maneuver from, especially when you have an enemy approaching from behind. I pumped my strength into my legs, letting my natural speed take me forward to Apron-Lady a little slower than her pillar moved her. While her speed was artificial, from a jutsu, mine was all natural and so much better because of that. I cocked my arm back mid-stride and let loose my not-so-secret secret weapon.

My tanto sailed like a dream, and struck its mark in the Iwa kunoichi's back. Being unarmored, the blade slid in the muscles there firmly and lodged itself there. She screamed and froze, which I tried to block out as best as I could because what was coming up next wasn't going to be any more pleasant.

Using that _stupid_ ninja wire I tied to the handle of my tanto, I pulled the deadly weapon out. A trail of blood followed it into the air and I jumped, catching the leather-wrapped end in a reverse grip and preparing for the final blow. "This is it!" I yelled. When I reached the ground I plunged downward with my short sword.

 **Shnk!**

I gasped, shocked at the sudden cold, intrusive sensation in my gut. My attack wasn't the only one that landed true.

There was the katana clenched in the kunoichi's hand, moved so that the blade stuck upward between her left arm and hip. I didn't see it coming and had no place to go but down. I looked down to see the sword in the lower left part of my gut. By the Nine, it was painful.

My tanto was buried hilt-deep in her back, but she was still alive beneath me. With a noise that was half-whine-half-grunt, I pulled my weapon out, feeling every inch of the cold steel in my abdomen in the process. Sweat cropped up on my forehead and made my palms slick.

There were black dots dancing in my vision by the time I had extracted the blade, and my breath was coming out in short wheezes. I'd never felt something quite like this, it was… visceral. My heart was pounding, making a thunk, thunk sound in my head with every beat.

"A...Ahh…" I managed, unable to not make some sort of pained noise.

I heard a gasp from the kunoichi below, who was starting to lift herself up, dragging me off the katana slowly. The steady stream of blood dripping downward quickened with every millimeter she moved.

I lifted my tanto. It had to end. I won't let her win. Reizo is dead, and Kakashi and Anko need my help. I close my eyes, feeling that old familiar warmth flow through my veins. Like I was taught, I directed it to build up in my arms, my shoulders, my back, or wherever I needed to to go to make my muscles stronger, if only for a brief moment.

The chakra sings through my body and slam the tanto back in as hard as I dared with the katana having run me through. She cried out and dropped, whimpering. I, too, screamed at being suddenly dropped half a foot down the deadly blade.

Slowly, her voice became quieter and quieter until it stopped altogether. All I could hear was the sounds of nearby battle and the pounding in my head. The ground was rumbling with the telltale groan of doton jutsu and there was a sudden hissing, crackling noise that heralded the use of raiton chakra. Anko and Kakashi were still fighting, I had to help them.

Once more, I pulled my tanto out, and it was even harder this time than last. I lost my grip more than once but eventually freed my weapon from here it rested. With shaking hands, I managed to wipe the blood off on the Iwa kunoichi's apron and return the tanto to its place on the underside of my left arm. Here came the hard part. Actually getting up to help.

Luckily her fingers were limp around the katana, so I thanked the Shinigami it was easy to remove from her grip.

I heard a yell of exertion and a faint crackling squelch. After that was a cry of pain and then the ground's trembling ceased.

That yell was Kakashi, they could still be in danger. I used my trembling arms to lift myself off of the woman and onto my knees. Somehow I managed to get a foot underneath me. Had I been in my right state of mind, I would have realized that the earth not moving after an adult voice screamed in pain meant that the adult most likely lost, but I was not thinking straight. Using the now shorter horseshoe-shaped wall, I rose to my feet.

I almost fell right back down because of the mind-numbing pain. My eyes rolled uncontrollably in their sockets, sightless from trying to just stay conscious and I faintly registered someone groaning like some kind of bleating animal. After a moment of blinding pain I realized it was me, but I just didn't care.

My first step was my last. I didn't get far because my legs gave out from beneath me and I ended up sliding down the wall, barely able to keep myself upright enough to stop the katana from sliding any further into me. The fact that I was severely dehydrated from using the mizu bunshin, and still recovering from my previous bout of water loss from the bandits didn't help any.

Through half-lidded eyes, I saw a shape landing in front of me. Anko shrieked. No one could do that quite like her unless Kakashi wasn't telling me something.

"Kakashi!"

He joined her, bleeding from multiple angry-looking wounds on his right arm and clutching it tightly.

I smiled gently, they were fine.

"I juss… neesleep…" I slur at them before losing all the strength to keep myself upright.

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: I know, a long time has passed since my last update, and I fully expect your rage and flaming reviews from it. I'll try not to let it affect me too badly, and I honestly hope you enjoyed it despite the… er, delay. Also, I updated the first chapter of Juuichi, taking a good deal of the cringy stuff I had there. That's not to say it isn't crazy cringy because I know my entire story is. For that, sorry I guess.**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**


	13. Chapter 13: Sparks of War

**Chapter 13: Sparks of War**

 **AN: I'm back again, this time hopefully on time with my monthly update schedule (WRONG! I had winter vacation and wrote half of the chapter before going 'meh, I'll get it done before Christmas' and forgetting to do it until January). Send a review if you'd like. I don't own Naruto.**

 **That's all.**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

 **"Attacks (Translations)"**

 **\/**

* * *

"Have a good day, Uroko-san!" The abnormally thin Akimichi cook said, waving his towel in farewell. Subo was a good person, a civilian of the normally portly clan, and one of the first in the restaurant to accept a blue, scaled cook in the kitchen. That is, after he saw how well I could make the seafood dishes.

I gave him a polite nod and hung my apron on its hook before slipping out the back door. The cooler air greeted me like an old friend and I took a deep breath, glad to be out of the hot place. I pushed my glasses back up the bridge of my nose as I took to the alleyways of Konohagakure. Only the low lives and urchins were to be found alongside the occasional overturned garbage can in the alleys. Common folk stayed away from them, so they were the best place for a highly mistrusted person like myself to walk.

While I traveled, I wondered about how my son was doing in his first mission outside the village. Hariken was nine now, and still had some of his innocence left despite all Orochimaru's efforts. There was also Kakashi and Anko to look after him as well. It's not like they were better shinobi than him, but the more eyes on him, the better. Hariken has this tendency to always get injured in the most stupid ways. In his defense, only some were his fault, like trying to catch thrown weapons from midair in order to turn an opponent's attack against them. All I could do back then was sigh, bandage his fingers, and refuse to let him go to the hospital so he would learn his lesson.

That bit of innocence still remained, though. He was smart, and knew why we had to be moved into the Uchiha District. But he still didn't fully grasp how badly the people of Konoha hated our clan for spearheading the destruction of Uzushiogakure. The glares and eyes tracking our every movements had never stopped, and I heard that there was actually a bit of celebration after he got attacked by that gang when the story leaked out two years ago.

It bothered me that all I could do was sit back and let everything I learned, all my training go to waste. ' _How long was it now? Twelve years?'_ I sighed.

I am a kunoichi, not a cook. I'm still so grateful towards Chouza-san, and probably will be for a long time, but Hariken keeps getting put into more and more dangerous situations and I can't do anything about it. He's gotten stronger too, and so have everyone else, while I sit there, stirring pots and feeling what used to be frighteningly sharp chakra control slacken to below jounin standards. Certainly not at my old measure of chakra control as was expected by a Kage's former genin.

It's frustrating because the history books that the Umi no Dokuhebi clan had said that we'd been a purely shinobi clan since it was first formed. I have keen instincts, a tough layer of scales all around my body, and a Kekkei Genkai perfect for making sure my targets die the first time every time. All of it's being wasted because of this ban from active duty due to having what amounts to fugitive status.

The agreement the council had come to was that I'd be allowed to use chakra again and train after Hariken graduated from the Academy. That burden on my life was technically lifted by Orochimaru formally taking Hariken and Anko in with a dual apprenticeship. Technically lifted, but not formally stated. The Hokage hasn't given me legal right to train yet. I personally thought those opposed to the idea were hoping to sweep the issue beneath the rug, or that I would become docile, so the civilians would be appeased. They're wrong if that's the case. I'll make an appointment with the old man every day to bring the issue up if it means I'd get to start actually protecting my son again. I will never conform to the life of a civilian, because I am a kunoichi who is proud of my heritage.

When I neared the hot springs, I heard a faint buzzing noise that set me on edge. It wasn't the hum of electricity, but it was just low enough to have my instincts warning me of danger. I casually slipped a hand into my pocket and slid a finger into the hole of the kunai I always had hidden on me. Even if Konoha tried to declaw me, I refused to leave myself defenseless.

The buzzing got louder, and I tasted the air to see what was going on. If it was a motor of some kind, I would get the scent of fumes better with my forked tongue than my nose. Instead of the acrid scent of burning gasoline, there was something in the air I was familiar with. After all, kikaichu still had a distinctive 'bug' smell I wasn't likely to forget any time soon. Normal noses wouldn't pick it up, but I did. I relaxed and let go of the shinobi weapon, taking the snack bar right next to it out of the pocket instead.

If there was one thing that could be said about the Akimichi, it was that they never let someone in their restaurants to leave without at least having _something_ to eat. Even if that person was an employee. Good customer service on their part. I took a healthy bite from the bar as I walked.

The scent and the noise of what I now assumed to be an Aburame was coming from the path I usually took to get back to the place I had in the Uchiha district. I shrugged and simply changed my course. If they wanted to speak then they would follow me. They weren't trackers for nothing.

The Aburame clan and the Umi no Dokuhebi were on neutral grounds. They didn't trust us, but they were placated by having a clan member watch Hariken or myself when we went about the village. What raised my hackles was how obvious this particular Aburame made himself.

When the man made himself known again in the new alley I had turned into, I decided he had something to say. I glared into the shadows of the doorway I just passed and crossed my arms, turning fully to face the grinning fool. "Ran, stop looming there in the shadows, I can see you."

He stayed in the doorway, "But what if it wasn't me?" The former escort to my son asked. "I could have been a creeper and you wouldn't have known."

With arms still firmly crossed, I lifted a single eyebrow. "After being taken off of Hariken-watching, none of us had heard anything about your whereabouts. By all definition, you _are_ the creeper. Besides, nobody else would willingly be a liaison after you'd already done it once."

A mock-hurt expression crossed his face and he placed a hand on his chest. "I thought we were friends Uroko-chan. Now you're insulting me to my face. I don't think I'll tell you why I'm here now." He said, pouting.

I sighed, "Well, you're already here, so you might as well."

He grinned, "What if I just wanted to spend time with my favorite snake person?"

"Then you should have found Orochimaru-san before he left for his mission."

"That hurts, Uroko-chan."

"Tough."

His easygoing smile slipped off his face, into one of more seriousness. Ran's ability to know exactly when to be serious or joking was something I appreciated about the man. "Hokage-sama wanted me to find you to deliver the message that you are to see him at four this afternoon."

I nodded. "Anything else?"

The grin snuck back into his face, making his cheeks stretch. "Clear your schedule." He said before a dust cloud was thrown up to disguise his shunshin.

 **\/**

* * *

I arrived at the Hokage's office at 3:55 pm. I knew the summons was something I did not want to miss, so I made well sure I didn't stroll in at four o'clock sharp. If one wasn't five minutes early, then one was late. Any earlier and it would seem like I was waiting on the man. What surprised me was the appearance of that unpleasant man, Danzo. I clenched a fist at the thought of the bandaged man opposing whatever it is the Hokage called me here for.

The secretary sitting at the desk next to the double doors kept shooting me what would have passed for unobtrusive dirty glances had I not been trained to notice such things. I simply lifted my chin, refusing to acknowledge the girl.

The poor girl was probably just a chuunin assigned to desk duty that had to deal with hundreds of annoying genin every day to get their missions. She was sorely lacking in the subtlety department.

The double doors serving as the entrance to the Hokage's office opened up and two dark-skinned, stiff looking men wearing Kumo silks exited. One of them gave a bow just short enough to be deemed polite to the secretary. The two left quickly after that.

My eyes tracked their backs. They looked rather upset, not that I cared.

Danzo and I both rose as one and the man looked at me from the corner of his exposed eye. "I will not apologize for my hostility when you first arrived. However, I will concede that crippling a capable kunoichi as yourself from staying in top form was a mistake." He said before bowing slightly. More a twitch than anything. I fixed my eyes on his face, searching for the man who tried to slit my throat after the battle with the Dark Man.

People don't change, especially people set in their ways like Danzo or myself. He has an ulterior motive, all I have to do is find out what it is so I could stay well out of his reach. I watched his back like a hawk as he walked into Hiruzen's office ahead of me. Only after he was in view of the Hokage did I follow into the room.

The Hokage looked slightly older than the last time I saw him, with white hairs making a rise in his darker grey and a single liver spot on his cheek. His steely eyes, too, were on Danzo until he spotted my entrance. When that happened, he allowed a polite upturning to come to his lips. "Uroko-chan." The leader of the village greeted.

I gave a bow, "Hokage-sama."

"Danzo."

"Hiruzen."

I had a feeling if Hariken were here he'd say his own name if only to make a sad attempt at a joke.

The aging fire shadow's hands folded in front of his face and he leaned forward onto his elbows. I straightened my back a bit and looked into his eyes. Business time. "I'm not going to lie to you, Uroko-chan, what I'm about to tell you is not favored by the rest of Konoha. An agreement was made that you would be a civilian until Hariken graduated from the Academy. An agreement that was necessary strictly for wartime." He started.

His face lightened slightly in amusement. "Now that my former student has decided to take your son and Anko-chan as apprentices, you no longer have to worry about the Academy. I'm sure that you already know that and I'm sorry for waiting so long to tell you but, I was met with more resistance than expected." The Hokage explained. Danzo kept his face impassive, but he seemed to ooze a feeling of contempt. Hiruzen noticed it but ignored the man's response and continued. "Those opposed to allowing your instatement into Konoha's shinobi forces had no choice but to agree with their Hokage's decision. Thankfully I have allies such as Danzo to support the choice. He was quite upset with them." He chuckled. "Some viewed it as an abuse of power, but I consider it a good final order as Hokage."

My eyes widened in surprise and unknown to me, Danzo's eye did as well. "You're stepping down, Hokage-sama?"

He nodded, "Yes, I am. I've been thinking about this for a few months now, and you two are the first to hear of it. Who takes the hat after me depends on what happens in Orochimaru-kun and Minato-kun's mission."

Danzo hummed and found his way to one of the chairs in front of Hiruzen's desk. "You're choosing between the two of them then? An interesting development, Hiruzen, but what of those who are more _experienced?_ Surely there are others. I saw the nobles from Kumo just as plainly as Uroko." He said, his voice strong. I glanced at the back of the man's head and noticed how rigid Danzo had become. "Someone who knows the ins and outs of politicking, perhaps?"

Hiruzen sighed in a way that made it seem he knew what was coming. "Danzo, the sudden tension between the villages and the matter of my replacement can be discussed at length when Uroko-chan is dismissed. The reason I had Ran get her is so that I could talk with _her_." He said. The crippled man looked obstinate enough to begin debating regardless, but decided against it under the promise of being able to speak later. "Thank you."

The Hokage turned to me with less of his weary expression showing. "The good news is that you are now officially able to train yourself back to how you were before Kiri's Kekkei Genkai purges. Orochimaru's cunning move to take apprentices places Hariken and Anko above their peers, as genin under a jounin sensei."

That made me smile, but a part of me was dreading what possible bad news was coming.

"Unfortunately, an apprenticeship gives my student more direct control over the lives of Hariken and Anko. I know how protective you are of them." Hiruzen said.

I relaxed. _'That isn't so bad. Orochimaru-san has been around the two of them for a while now. I know and trust him enough to let him train the two of them.'_ I looked down at my civilian clothing and noted how soft my body has become despite all my obsessive calisthenics and religious adherence to a strict diet. _'Besides,'_ I thought wryly. _'In this condition, I'm not the best choice to teach anyone.'_

"The bad news, depending if you view it as such, is that you will not be allowed to take missions for the first month of training. This is non-negotiable. I suggest you use this time to push yourself to the limit to get yourself back into fighting form." The Hokage said.

I nodded at this piece of information, suddenly very jittery. "Yes, Hokage-sama, are there any more conditions?" There's no way that I'd contest that in a thousand years, and I had just enough money saved up to get some serious weights to put muscle back on and to buy groceries for about that long. I could feel the warm rush of excitement and adrenaline start to trickle into my veins. Every part of me wanted to jump for joy and rush out to the nearest training grounds, but I stayed in case of any wrenches being thrown into my plans.

Hiruzen's smile became slightly strained. "I do hope you're fond of Aburame Ran's company, because he's going to be right next to you the entire time. He's a strong jounin, so there shouldn't be any impediment to your training." He said.

I looked in his eyes for a moment before cocking my head noncommittally. "Ran is fine. I'm used to his… quirks by now. He's better than somebody new and I know he doesn't intend to sabotage me. Another person might use this time to do something, but he's had his opportunity to do harm to my family. He hasn't, and is quite fond of my son's unfortunate flair for dramatics."

"That's good. He's got his head on straight and you've done nothing but benefit this village so far. Nevertheless, the Hyuuga, Aburame, and Nara clans wanted to have someone around. The Hyuuga don't trust your clan, the Aburame want to keep track of your whereabouts still, and I'm not sure what Shikaku-san is thinking now. He'll tell me eventually, he always does." The Hokage said. He took his pipe out and placed it between his lips. "They're legitimate concerns, and I saw no reason not to allow Ran's participation in it." He gave a sly look around the pipe, "I look forward to seeing what you bring to the village. You are now dismissed as a chuunin of Konohagakure." He held out a slim metal plate on a long black cloth I identified as a Konoha hitai-ate. "Good luck, Uroko-chan."

I nodded and grabbed the headband, tying it crookedly around my forehead to expose the pit organs on my face, just like I had back when I was in Kiri's forces. With that done, I saluted the Hokage and left the room, eager to get back to how I was before. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I won't disappoint."

 **\/**

* * *

About two hours later, Danzo found himself deep underground in a place that Hiruzen had full knowledge of, and had approved of. The bandaged man was not happy. ROOT had informed him of large-scale militarization of all other major hidden villages and Hiruzen decided to step down. What's worse is that he got passed up once more for the position of Hokage, in favor of a young upstart who didn't know how to run a village and an unstable man more focused on gaining immortality. Oh yes, Danzo knew about Orochimaru's little experiments, but that wasn't the focus here.

How Hiruzen's belief in the Will of Fire could have brushed him aside to be chosen as Hokage, Danzo would never know, but Danzo would continue to do what is the best for his village. The shadows served him well enough, and no man knew just how much power ROOT had secretly gathered throughout the years. ROOT will still be there through the end, supporting the great tree that is Konoha even if Hiruzen was determined to drive it into the ground.

Danzo did not understand how a man with such a vaunted intelligence would start believing in the inherent goodness of humanity. He knew how his former teammate was once a warrior that struck fear into the hearts of any enemy that dared to oppose him, but now? Hiruzen was starting to get soft. If there was one thing they both agreed on, it's that he had to go. Someone else had to take the position of Hokage. One who wasn't afraid of making the hard decisions. One who didn't court potential security leaks in the middle of times of war. Someone like himself.

Danzo really didn't have a problem with the Umi no Dokuhebi clan personally. Yes, they led the assault of Uzushiogakure, and an attack on Konoha's allies is an attack on Konoha itself, but there were only two left. The Mizukage and the paranoia of Kiri made sure of that. They would be easy to snuff out if they became problematic. After all, they had to sleep at some time, and there are many more of ROOT than just two people.

The young one could be a potential recruit into Danzo's forces. He was still young, malleable. Uroko, however, could be a problem. She was fully in Hiruzen's pocket and wouldn't allow something like that to happen. At least her loyalties had switched to Konoha, even more firmly after this afternoon, but Danzo didn't want to take his chances.

A twitch of a finger brought one of his personal guards, a certain Fu Yamanaka, to dissolve from the shadows and kneel a few yards away from his desk. He was silent, waiting for his orders. Danzo's single exposed eye trained on the Yamanaka's back, then spoke. "Ensure the Umi no Dokuhebi woman's loyalties. She will likely exhaust herself during the day and has an Aburame watcher once more. He cannot follow her into the Uchiha District. We cannot allow a sleeper agent in Konoha." Danzo kept his gaze on the man. He would have to use a favor with one of the guards to allow his agent into one of the parts of Konoha that had the highest amount of security, but he wasn't worried. There isn't much in the village Danzo didn't know about or have his fingers in.

The ROOT agent rose from his position and turned to leave, only to suddenly go rigid. His brows knit together, and an expression of pure fury stretched across the Yamanaka's face. Danzo tensed for combat but recognized the seemingly random emotional response for what it truly was. His eye narrowed in annoyance, the first facial expression he allowed himself since arriving at the subterranean base.

Fu screamed in anger and tore his tipless tanto from its sheath, charging forward to strike at Danzo. The man in question didn't move a muscle, only waiting for Fu's seal to activate and immobilize the ROOT agent. When that didn't happen Danzo's eye widened. He shoved his chair back out of the way and growled at the shadows. "Stop this!"

A dry cackle was the only response he got. Fu stopped in his tracks, starting to foam at the mouth. After a few second the mindwalking shinobi dropped to the ground, convulsing and making whimpering noises. Danzo moved his chair back and glared at the figure that made himself known.

A thin figure wreathed in darkness and colored only in shades of grey stepped into the light. The shadows seemed to cling to him and everything about the man was… unimpressive and dead-looking. Glassy eyes stared at Danzo and teeth that were somehow still white were bared in his direction. "Your subjects are still pathetic, Danzo- _sama_." The being mocked. "Even the Yamanaka, who pride themselves on having control of their own minds fall at a touch of my power."

The man looked down, amused at the still seizing Fu on the ground. "Your emotion training hasn't worked, it seems. He can still feel." Color returned to the man and Danzo's agent slipped into unconsciousness. "But that's not why I'm here now is it?" He asked rhetorically. "You haven't killed them yet."

Danzo stared back. The man somehow was able to influence the emotions of others, and it hadn't taken Danzo long to figure out that it was him. He was making no secret of whenever he manipulated Danzo's ROOT agents. "You know why." Danzo said, "The Umi no Dokuhebi still have uses."

The thing snorted, "Like what? Your whole shtick is making people not feel special and into perfect little tools. The longer you wait the stronger they get, Danzo. You should have killed them the very first day and just be done with it. You're a smart man, you know this."

Danzo let his unbandaged arm rest on the desk. "So far the boy has survived multiple attacks and has proven himself more resilient than the common shinobi. He is still young and the perseverance he shows makes him good for ROOT."

"Perseverance he would just have trained out of him… You were so against them before and now you're rolling over for them?! Where's the man who wouldn't hesitate to kill enemy shinobi in the middle of war? Don't tell me you're getting _soft?!"_ The man spat.

Danzo did not rise to the bait. "The man I was then is not the man of peace time, but he may return soon." He said calmly. "I know of your power to bend the emotions of people around you, and you only just gained them after the battle. You were once ROOT. I knew everything about you. The power you wield made even Hiruzen unpredictable until you got it under control."

There was a shift in the former man. He went from irritated to amused. A grin stretched across his greasy face. "I was once ROOT, Danzo…" He chuckled at the simple sentence. "But I'm not your little peon any longer." The shadows started to swirl around the man until only his eyes could be seen. "Kill those unnatural wretches, Danzo. Or I will. And when I do, your precious village will be little more than cinders."

The shadows exploded away from the man, leaving nothing but the smell of brimstone behind.

Danzo was left behind in the chamber with only the unconscious Fu and his hidden ROOT guards remaining. The councilman's eye flashed dangerously. "I want him found and under constant watch." He ordered.

One of the shadows hidden in the chamber vanished. At the same time another of his agents appeared behind him soundlessly. The powerful man turned to cast the other a critical eye.

She snapped a quick salute. "Danzo-sama, Orochimaru and his team have been spotted a few minutes away. All five are en route to Konoha. The Umi no Dokuhebi boy is injured."

Danzo gave the agent a critical look, searching for any influence from the… thing that he used to command.

Only when no change was apparent in the ROOT shinobi around him did Danzo exit the chamber. He had a feeling he would be summoned soon after that team's debriefing.

 **\/**

* * *

Outside Konoha's walls, a figure fell to the ground in a plume of thick black smoke, flickering between grey and full color. For a long moment, he lay there, sucking in desperate breaths.

After he finally gained his wind back, he picked himself from the ground and returned to having his normal, if pallid colors. The man shook his head, sending limp black hair tossing about. He leaned heavily against the village's thick walls. "Heheh… Danzo's ROOT are tough. I've never had to expend that much effort to get a response."

Contrary to what he wanted the half-blind leader to think, the grey being was not nearly as powerful as he appeared. Slowly, he was gaining power. Using his ability to directly control the emotions of others was extremely taxing when used on those who had a tighter grip on them. When he first came to existence his powers were uncontrolled and sent him into a comatose state for weeks before he managed to center himself.

He suddenly retched, doubling over and holding a hand to his mouth. He swallowed and took his hand away from his mouth. It came back bloody, but the man grimaced and shoved himself upright, starting to stagger off into the woods. Nobody would be in that direction, which was why he used his overly flashy shunshin to come here.

The man knew Danzo wouldn't make a move after the Umi no Dokuhebi. Things were picking up across the Elemental Nations again. The being had a feeling his bluff was being called out. Danzo was planning to groom the boy as a ROOT agent and had let Hiruzen use the woman however he wished. Already, the two had too much value. It really was worrying, considering the two weren't supposed to exist at all. Who knows what would happen in the future?

In any case, the grey being needed to recuperate and strengthen himself for a conflict much later down the road, when Danzo and Hiruzen got tired of their playthings. The boy and his mother were already too strong for his liking. With their progress being allowed uncontested, he'd need to be able to handle both of them, simultaneously if need be.

 **\/**

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed at the sudden influx of teams coming in to report their mission results. There was this increase occasionally, but not quite on this scale. He looked out the window in his office. The line going to his mission office stretched outside of the building. Quite a few of the teams had requested, upon submitting their mission reports, to have an audience with him. None of those brought good news.

There had been an increase in conflict with all four of the other major shinobi villages. Kumo was militarizing again, which in itself wasn't surprising, but they were also monopolizing missions in the neutral grounds of Yu no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni, pushing any other village's shinobi out with lethal force. Iwa, too, was reaching past their jurisdiction, with increased presence in non-Iwa territory. Kiri was luckily still too embroiled in their own civil war to focus on international affairs, but even they were pushing the boundaries. Suna had all but ceased communications within the past week or so, something that happened only when they were building up their forces or were planning something. The teams taking missions in Kaze no Kuni whom both Suna and Konoha had agreed on allowing to exist had yet to return with any news.

Altogether, the climate of the Elemental nations was once more shifting to the stormy, unforgiving state of something they'd only just in the past few years settled down from. Hiruzen rubbed his temples as one jounin left to admit a few chuunin who were encrusted with sand. He distinctly remembered this squad having at least two more men in it.

"News from Suna?" The Hokage asked.

The unofficial leader of the group took a deep breath and launched into his tale while the Hokage listened to the bad news with folded hands. He didn't like the way things were turning at all. The storm clouds of war were just starting to darken, and soon the lands would know the flood or misery they brought with it.

 **\/**

* * *

I winced at the completely intentional jostling Orochimaru-sensei put in his movements. To be honest, I deserved that one. The five-man mission squad had taken to the trees in order to make the journey at shinobi speed. The man on whose back I was clutching to piggyback style had no qualms about making the ride unpleasant.

Thankfully, once we decided to hit the trees the multiple day trip got cut down into a matter of hours. We'd reach Konoha shortly and I was eager to get there because Orochimaru would stop carrying me. At the same time, I felt sick to my stomach over what the sannin had promised. "... We will resolve this problem you have when we return to Konoha. Getting so lost in your thoughts that you shut down is unacceptable..." The inflection he put on the word _resolve_ sent a spike of ice into my stomach. I knew the monster that Orochimaru became in the anime before his redemption. So careless of human life, so cold. He was a twisted person, and I had firsthand experience of it when he forced me to kill a defenseless prisoner in cold blood.

What was he going to do to the person I've come to know myself as? The happy-go-lucky giant who liked leather and chicken wings isn't the same as the blue, scaly ninja kid I am now. I know that. I've heard stories of spies and special agencies who got brainwashed under the pretense of training, and I know for a fact that Orochimaru has already peeled away some of my morals. I used to look at the children on the streets with compassion, but every time I see one my mind automatically goes to cutpurses and undercover shinobi.

At least the man I call a teacher is still human enough to help me when I really need it. Like when I had come back from the sweet embrace of unconsciousness, the first thing I noticed was that I no longer had a great honking sword in my guts. The next thing I noticed was Sensei's disapproving eyes piercing into my very soul and the hands glowing with green chakra on my stomach. By the Nine, I'd have been better off still dead to the world.

After that look, he all but demanded what happened to me. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed with what I did to end the fight. He tore into me once I finished my story, all but waxing poetic about the impossible stupidity I must possess for getting myself gravely injured again. I must clearly not be the same person he trained because drama wasn't part of his regimen.

He used big words too, so I felt extra stupid.

Anko was a little bit worried out of her mind at my state. She was hovering nervously at Orochimaru's side the entire time he used his considerable skills to patch me up. Sensei was no iryo-nin like Tsunade, but I knew of his accomplishments in the future. Compared to achieving a functional immortality, healing a person who got run through by a very sharp katana was nothing. He is also a firm believer in that pain is one of the most effective teaching tools. This was made clear by the fact that he made sure my nerves were repaired first before moving onto the actual organ damage, so I _really_ felt every second of squishy, breathless-gasping-unfocused-Braveheart-FREEDOM-screaming-worthy pain as he healed me. Okay, I may be exaggerating a little, but it was one of the more strange experiences I'd been through.

Now that my intestines have been repaired Anko seemed to have hit her old stride. That is to say, she used the opportunities when Orochimaru-sensei took a breath or a pause to snipe at the soft spots she knew I had. Only an idiot does a flashy jumping finishing move when their running speed could get them to the enemy faster. Who wouldn't just stab someone in the back normally? Oh wait, Hariken did… Didn't he say he hated when people did flourishes?

I was jolted from my thoughts by another intentional hard landing on the next tree limb. I grunted in discomfort but kept my lips firmly shut. Minato and Kakashi sent glances in my direction at the sound. The Yellow Flash's face was unreadable, but I thought I saw a glint of concern in Kakashi. Stupid unreadable genius shinobi. I can never tell what they're thinking.

I had to be grateful about any jostling I got, and I had to like it. Orochimaru-sensei was already carrying me, had healed me, and let me keep the sword I'd been impaled on. Any complaints I had about the rough treatment could go right into the trash.

"Are you uncomfortable Hariken?"

"No sensei." I grit out. The sword, wrapped in what was left of my old shirt as a temporary sheath, was gripped even tighter in my hand at this.

"Good." The way he caresses his words still sends unpleasant chills racing down my back. "We're here."

I looked up to see the tall gates of the village. Seeing them open and welcoming was really something. The hands below my thighs released me from the piggyback ride I'd been forced into.

"Ah, yes, that is good." I agreed stiffly, dusting off my legs and feeling my stomach clench uncomfortably. The tightness in my gut was not from the stab wound this time.

Minato took the lead and I saw Orochimaru send him an unreadable glance before the Yellow Flash reached the two gate guards. I watched silently as he went through a series of identity checks with no small amount of fascination. Voice checks, pressing a bit of chakra into a piece of paper, shinobi ID number check, a henge check, and a signature. After the last, the guards seemed satisfied and let him and Kakashi through. Orochimaru repeated the process, and soon we were officially back in the village.

The sights and smells were just the same as I remembered it, complete with the underlying tension in the air that came when the people saw me. Ah yes, just like when Kaa-Chan and I first got here. I made a conscious point to not be lost in my thoughts while we walked. Another incident like that one on the road would doom me for sure. This time there would be no barrier of a mission to ensure my sanity.

My head was on a swivel to take everything in, a direct contrast to Minato, Orochimaru, and Anko, though she tried to emulate our teacher more than anything else. They all strode forward with purpose, looking as if they were trying to get to the Hokage's office in as much of a professional-looking rush as possible. There were several other shinobi teams walking all brisk-like as well. The only exception was a team led by a Nara who looked like she would much rather be laying down and couldn't care less about being anywhere at this moment in time.

Our eyes met and I gave her a nod, flicking my eyes at our bustling Konoha comrades. She, expressing the insane intelligence of the Nara clan, sighed gustily in response and muttered under her breath. I cracked a small smile. It seems being in an all-fire hurry to report their mission was standard procedure for Konoha shinobi.

Her eyes did a similar flick in the direction I knew Orochimaru was in and I inwardly sighed. I hadn't stopped dead in the road, but apparently my lack of hurry was enough for him to send me a piercing look. I picked up my pace, walking stiffly every other step and readjusting my grip on the makeshift sheath of the katana.

We reached the tower and its very long line going out of it with little else of interest happening. No more looks from Orochimaru but plenty from the citizens and no small amount of shinobi. It was even worse than before, and I couldn't help but wonder what (more) happened to make them shoot dagger eyes this time.

That small, cynical voice in my head scoffed. _'These shinobi won't forget Uzu's destruction any time soon. It took over sixteen years for Naruto to get some kind of positive recognition.'_ I looked to the side, seeing a glaring dignitary usher his wealthy merchant friends into a side room. _'What makes you think they'll let this go any time soon?'_

Eventually, our team made its way through the line of teams waiting to report in or team leaders waiting to submit mission summaries. We had to wait an hour or so because it seemed like every other team took an extra five minutes. It didn't take long for Anko to start getting fidgety, and the hand holding the sword was starting to get sweaty because of how long it had been in the same position. All the other teams made up of chuunin or above stood in stony silence during the wait, but some of the scant genin teams had decided now was good for goofing off. It would have been the perfect time to zone out too, but Orochimaru's sharp eye had stopped that notion.

The important part was that the wait was over, at least. Minato, having the arguably more patient Kakashi, decided again to take point and handed the desk chuunin a mission scroll. "If at all possible, I'd like to request a meeting with Hokage-sama. It's urgent."

The man at the desk, who had a leg missing but was still good for a job such as this, grunted. "They're all urgent today, aren't they?" His rather bulldoggish face was unimpressed as he turned to a female assistant. "Another for the Hokage, Shiba-chan. Get it done, I want this line moving." He jerked his head in the direction of the woman. "Follow her. Lots of people have come by today to report directly to Hokage-sama, and you aren't the last ones either." Minato bowed gracefully to the man while Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. The man's dismissive tone prickled at the sannin's pride.

Nevertheless, we followed the young woman to a small waiting room occupied by a few teams looking quite a bit more beat up than we were. In fact, we stood out like a sore thumb. Kakashi was the only one who looked anything like the others in the room due to his smaller chakra reserves and the cuts he received from the tag-team battle with Anko. Minato's bright blond hair grabbed the attention of most in the room. A few offered sober greetings to the Yellow Flash, which he returned.

Teams came and went, and the very same receptionist as the scant few years ago sat behind her desk, reigning as queen of the waiting room again. She stiffened when she spotted me among the waiters and looked particularly offended by my existence. Despite all the nervousness and crap I'd been worrying myself silly with over the past few hours, that obscenely snooty look she gave me, like I was the absolute scum of the Earth, just seemed hilarious to me.

I flashed her a great big fanged grin, trying to convey how little her prejudice meant to me and how much enjoyment it was bringing.

Anko noticed and leaned over to whisper to me. "Hariken, why are you giving that nice lady such a scary look?"

I laughed to myself, "Because they all hate me so much and I really don't care at all. Isn't that funny?"

"Uh, no, not really. Are you sure you're okay?"

My smile turned a tad bitter and I looked down. "I'm fine Anko. Just a lot of built up stress being defused by a moron, is all."

"Oh, come on Hariken! You can't still be agonizing over that zoning out thing, can you?" She whispered incredulously. "It'll be fine. You worry too much. Orochimaru-sama makes us better than what we were before. You're just having a small problem that's going to be ironed out in no time, and you'll look back to see how stupid you were being. Just like when I had the issue with the throwing weapons going off to the left. He helped me fix that. It's his job as our sensei, aside from being super awesome all the time."

I humphed and gave her a look, but didn't say anything for a moment. _'How do I explain to you that I'm a person who's shaped a peaceful, gentle personality over a span of many more years than you've seen and knows examples of brainwashing and unspeakable horrors because of conditioning like we're going through right now?'_

' _You don't,'_ The cynical part of my conscience answered. _'What you do is accept what they're giving you freely and thank them for stripping away your weaknesses so you can survive in this bloody world you've been thrown into.'_

Eventually, I answered Anko in my own whisper, despite my inner cynicism screaming at me that I no matter what I thought, Orochimaru was doing me a favor in the long run. "Changing who a person is, is far more different than learning to throw straight."

Then the Receptionist, who officially looked like she swallowed a lemon, called for the team led by Minato and Orochimaru. As one, we stood and entered the Hokage's office. The curtains were drawn with only a beam of light striking the Hokage's desk, as it usually was, to cast the entire room in shadows. This, I think was to make it easier for his special forces hide out in the office. Without concrete proof of it actually happening, all I had was speculation.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage of Konohagakure, looked up from a scroll he'd been reading, and I immediately relaxed. He just looked so like the old man Naruto would later call Jiji that I just couldn't help it. His hair was losing its color and he had a liver spot to go alongside his stress wrinkles. I smiled and gave him a bow, grunting when the action aggravated the still tender spot on my abdomen. The Hokage's response was a tight smile, with his eyes being shaded by something dangerous.

"Report." He ordered.

Both Jounin looked as if they were going to speak up, but Minato nodded his head to Orochimaru, who began to speak. "The escort mission had proceeded as planned until the team was approximately halfway to picking up the client. We ran into a Mizu no Kuni trade caravan being scouted out by a large group of bandits. We eliminated the outlaws and Minato-san interrogated the prisoner before we ensured the safety of the leader of the caravan. They informed us of the state Mizu no Kuni was in, and are going to various towns to peddle their wares."

Hiruzen looked intrigued. "News of Mizu no Kuni is welcome, but I'll read more about it in your official mission report. Tell me Orochimaru, Minato…" He said, addressing both men. "What information do you have that calls for a personal meeting on this busy day? The details, jounin." I noticed that the Hokage looked haggard and tired as he spoke. He must have really had a long day if he was rushing through a meeting with his former student and the man who I knew was going to be his successor.

Minato looked up with hard eyes. "Maeda Reizo has been proven to have never had Konoha's best interests in mind. He was an agent controlled by Iwagakure in order to infiltrate our village and provide Iwa with both village secrets and funds to build a major supply line for an occupying force."

The Hokage's eyes hardened and he pressed a button on his desk, "Get a medic-nin to treat the injuries in the lobby that can't wait. I'm not accepting any other teams for fifteen minutes." The button was released, and the aging man turned his steely gaze on the five people in front of him. "Explain."

"Reizo made an attempt to escape in the middle of the night and I created a shadow clone armed with one of my hiraishin kunai to follow him and if necessary, kill or capture him. Reizo made contact with an Iwa force, whom he had reassure him of their plans before we reached our destination. They admitted to having plans of taking Reizo to the safety of Iwagakure where he would reveal all the information he knew under the threat of a debt Reizo owed Iwa. The commander also told Reizo that 'his bridge' would be fine."

"Do we have any evidence of the funds being taken from Konoha?" The Hokage questioned. "Think very hard before you answer. Proof of a hidden village stealing such a large sum to build a major supply line for an invading force is a serious offence." He stood up from his chair, something I'd never seen him do in the middle of a meeting, and looked at the two adults in front of him. "Serious enough to cause a war."

Orochimaru stepped up, chin raised high and a calculating look to his face. "I have the evidence you need. Bring in Tsukuda Satoshi and tell him to bring his books on Reizo."

 **\/**

* * *

Satoshi was settling down gingerly into his special-made padded chair with a cup of tea and a novel he had gotten into when two figures in masks appeared in front of him. He startled and nearly dropped his porcelain cup if not for one of the ANBU taking both it and the book from his hands. "What's th-" He coughed. "Meaning of this?!"

"Tsukuda Satoshi, you are summoned by the Hokage under suspicion of treason. Retrieve the 'Maeda Reizo books' and follow us. Failure to comply will result in a forceful search of this office and your arrest on the grounds of assisting a known fugitive." The other intoned.

The bald man stepped back in surprise, "What? I'll have you know I have no special dealings with that worthless stain other than being his employer!"

"Is that a confession, Tsukuda-san?"

His face soured and he adjusted his thin spectacles, "No, ANBU-san. I will show you and the Hokage what I've really been doing regarding the man. Follow me, please, while I get my" He coughed lightly, "My records."

 **\/**

* * *

Not five minutes later, I saw the doors open to admit a harried-looking businessman being marched in by a pair of men clad in dark gear and white masks depicting animals. One held two books, and the other had a firm grip on Satoshi's arm. The moment his jaundiced eyes met Orochimaru, they narrowed into slits.

Was it just me, or did his eyes seem more… yellow than the last time we saw him?

"You called me, Hokage-sama?" He rasped.

Hiruzen beckoned to the black ops members and they brought him closer to the Hokage. "Place his effects on the desk." He ordered. The man holding the books put them down, and the Hokage stared directly at Satoshi. "Show me proof of Maeda Reizo betraying us to Iwagakure."

The businessman looked at the leader of the village for a few moments before complying silently. The room was dead silent other than the sound of turning pages. After about thirty seconds, Satoshi pointed to the very same column of numbers he showed Orochimaru, Anko, and I. "Here, Hokage-sama. I have been keeping records of Reizo's expenses ever since he came under my employment during the Second War. Every three days, he made a deposit of no less than one thousand ryo using money owned by my companies to an account that I was able to trace to a stone working company operating out of Kusa no Kuni. I keep records of all transactions made with money owned by my companies, and therefore, Hi no Kuni." He explained.

After Hiruzen looked through the numbers for a few minutes, Satoshi looked up. "Is this sufficient, Hokage-sama?"

"Why did you not come to us sooner?" He asked gravely.

"Hmph! Reizo was trying to drag me, and as much of Hi no Kuni down as he could. He was watching my every move, and had I even so much as contacted a Konoha shinobi, he would barge into my office to demand why. I made a special effort to make my business as shinobi-free as possible, to make the civilians more comfortable, you see, and interacting with them would raise flags that I was trying to get rid of him with subterfuge." He explained. Satoshi then crossed his arms, "Reizo was too deeply embedded in my workforce that any attempt to fire him publicly would result in the fracturing of Hi no Kuni's economy."

"And thus, leave us even more vulnerable for a hostile invasion…" Hiruzen mused. He nodded, "Thank you, Tsukuda-san, for bringing this matter to our attention. I will be keeping these record books, and I apologize for any distress this afternoon. You may be dismissed. My ANBU will escort you back to your home, if you so wish."

"Hokage-sama." He said in farewell before he was led away.

Once the doors shut behind him, Hiruzen sighed heavily and cradled his forehead in a hand. "Minato, Orochimaru, your genin are dismissed. Stay behind to discuss the rest of your mission." He glanced at the clock. "You still have seven minutes."

Both men bowed to the Hokage, and Orochimaru turned to Anko and I. "Go to my teammate in the hospital." He said, his nose wrinkling at the thought of having to have us visit Tsunade. "She will make sure no infection sets in from your wounds. You have the rest of today to relax. Leave the katana with me."

I gave him the weapon and we turned to leave, Kakashi having already disappeared to who-know-where, but Orochimaru's voice stopped us. "Tomorrow, however, will leave you gasping in the dirt. You will be at our usual training ground at no later than five-thirty in the morning. Go."

 **\/**

* * *

 **AN: A bit shorter than usual, but it covered all the points I wanted in the chapter.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **The-Lancer-of-the-Sun**


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